Human Factors Machinery Must Be

Human Factors Machinery must be safe to use through proper design and working practices that emphasize the need to assess the machine's risk, both in design and application. Machines have different kinds and levels of risk, which must be determined at design, so any improvements can be identified before production. There are two major factors to consider: The severity of foreseeable injuries or illness from mild to death and the probability of their occurrence.

First, the designer must look carefully at design of the machine to assess the potential for avoiding or reducing as many hazards as possible by selecting suitable features. Second, the designer must look at the possibility of limiting hazard exposure by reducing the need for operator intervention in the danger zones. he/she looks at the machine's intended use, the performance and space limits, range of movements, space requirements for installation and time limits for the foreseeable life of the machine.

The degree of injury and probability of occurrence must be assessed at this point and hazards removed or risks limited as far as possible by employing good ergonomics and failsafe principles. Then the designer places safeguards in against remaining risks, such as interlocked guards, light curtains, pressure mats, two-hand controls and trip devices. An industry that has considerable amount of occupational accidents and diseases is printing. Lack of safety procedures can cause burns from fires or explosions, cuts from unguarded machinery and electric shocks.

The major health symptoms are headaches and nausea, eye and skin irritation, dermatitis, dizziness, drowsiness and other effects on the central nervous system, cardiac arrhythmia, liver and kidney malfunction, respiratory irritation, occupational asthma, cancers, musculoskeletal disorders and deafness. The first stage of assessment involves the assessment of the risks through measurement of physical and chemical parameters in the workplace, such as solvents, metals, dust, noise, lighting, heat stress, ergonomic and safety hazards.

Once this is completed the following actions can take place: Promoting awareness of risks and following better practices such as substitution of solvents with less dangerous ones, improvement in ergonomic conditions and decreasing noise levels. First, it is necessary to assess volatile organic solvents, metals, dangerous dust, noise, lighting, climate, ergonomic hazards and work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This is done by studying the printing press site during printing; the printing press site during cleaning; at the binding site; at the packaging site; and in storage areas.

To determine heavy metals, a literature review needs to be conducted to obtain information on the type of inks and their use. The noise decibels must be measured, so they are not dangerous to hearing. Further, working surfaces need to be adequately illuminated, but.