Abstract
A study was conducted to determine the effect of some worker-related variables on work ability, work technique, and number of errors for a group of nine female employees aged 25 to 55 working as packers at a global distribution center located in the U.S.A. Work ability questionnaires (from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health) were given, quality ratings (as indicated by the number of errors) from the previous month were obtained, and employees were videotaped. Correlation analysis indicated that tenure was inversely related to work ability. Analysis of variance indicated that age and height were significantly related to the number of errors. Post-hoc tests indicated that older employees and taller employees had fewer errors. This finding was especially interesting considering that the workstations were designed for men or very tall women. This research serves as a pilot for a study aimed at discerning different working techniques through the development of a model that uses frequency and types of movements.
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