Work Improvement in Small
Enterprises (WISE): good
examples from Asia [CD-ROM]
[Publications]
Compilation of PowerPoint presentations on:
1) Work station design;
2) Physical environment;
3) Productive machine safety;
4) Welfare facilities;
5) Materials storage and handling.
Work-stations
- Four essential rules 1. Easy-reach rule: Keep materials,
tools, and controls within easy reach
2. Elbow rule: Work at elbow height and
with enough leg space
3. Jigs and fixtures rule: Use clamps,
jigs, vices and other fixtures
4. Easy-to-distinguish rule: Make
displays and controls easy to see
and understand
Easy-reach rule
1. Keep materials, tools and
controls within easy reach
2. Put materials in containers,
pallets or racks within easy
reach
3. Provide “homes” for tools
Before improvement
After improvement
Elbow rule
1. Perform work operations at elbow
height
2. Use foot platform for small workers, and
use work-item stand for tall workers
3. Use good chairs with backrest for
seated workers, and use stools for
occasional sitting for standing workers
4. Provide enough leg space for both
sitting and standing work
5. Allow workers to alternate sitting and
standing
Before improvement
After improvement
Jigs and fixtures rule
1. Use jigs and other fixtures to
hold work items
2. Use suspended tools which
are easily moved
3. Use gravity chutes or rollers
to save efforts
4. Use rotatable work-stand for
multiple operations
Easy-to-distinguish rule
1. Keep important displays and
switches within easy reach
2. Make displays and switches
easily distinguishable
3. Attach simple worded labels in
the local language
4. Make the emergency switch
easily visible
Work-stations
- Four essential rules 1. Easy-reach rule: Keep materials,
tools, and controls within easy reach
2. Elbow rule: Work at elbow height and
with enough leg space
3. Jigs and fixtures rule: Use clamps,
jigs, vices and other fixtures
4. Easy-to-distinguish rule: Make
displays and controls easy to see
and understand
Physical environment
The good physical environment
includes:
1. Good lighting;
2. Screening heat, noise, dusts
and chemicals;
3. Prevention of fires and
electrical accidents.
Good lighting conditions
at the workplace
1. Make full use of daylight
2. Use local lights for precision
work
3. Avoid glare
4. Ensure regular maintenance
of light sources
Improve premises
1. Protect the workplace
from outside heat
2. Use natural ventilation
(a)
(b)
Good ventilation
1. Increase natural ventilation
2. Use natural upward flow or
hot air
3. Use shades to protect the
workroom from sun heat
4. Use electrical fans to
increase air flow
Good
Wrong
Pull only
Push
Pull
Isolating sources
hazardous to health
1. Move heat, noise, dust and
chemical sources from general
work areas
2. Use partitions to screen heat,
noise, dust and chemical
sources
3. Use local exhaust ventilation
systems against heat, dust and
chemicals
Before improvement
After improvement
Before improvement
After improvement
Before improvement
After improvement
Before improvement
After improvement
Fires and electrical accidents
can be prevented by:
1. Using waste containers;
2. Keeping flammable materials
away from hot sources and
flames;
3. Ensuring electrical circuits are
enclosed, insulated and properly
fused;
4. Making sure all equipment is
earthed.
Before improvement
After improvement
Physical environment
The good physical environment
includes:
1. Good lighting;
2. Screening heat, noise, dusts
and chemicals;
3. Prevention of fires and
electrical accidents.
Productive machine safety
- Four principles 1. Purchase safe machines in which
all points of operation are free
from danger
2. Use good feeding and ejection
devices free from danger
3. Use guards around danger parts
4. Keep good maintenance of
machines
Use safe feeding devices
1. Plunger feeding
2. Carousel feeding
3. Gravity feeding and
simple chutes
Use machine guards
around danger parts
1. Fixed guards
2. Adjustable guards
3. Inter-lock guards
4. Two-hand controls
Before improvement
After improvement
Good machine
maintenance programme
1. To be done by qualified and
trained personnel
2. To include machine guards
3. To lock control mechanisms
of machines with a tag stating
“Danger, Do not operate.”
Productive machine safety
- Four principles 1. Purchase safe machines in which
all points of operation are free
from danger
2. Use good feeding and ejection
devices free from danger
3. Use guards around danger parts
4. Keep good maintenance of
machines
Welfare facilities
1. Provide essential facilities
2. Be ready for emergency
3. Use important low-cost
facilities
Provide essential facilities
1.Drinking water
2.Toilets
3.Wash basins
Cold tea
Important low-cost
facilities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Work clothes
Lockers and changing rooms
Canteens
Health services
Transport facilities
Recreational facilities
Child-care facilities
Before improvement
After improvement
Before improvement
After improvement
Clinic
Welfare facilities
1. Provide essential facilities
2. Be ready for emergency
3. Use important low-cost
facilities
Materials Storage and Handling
- Three goals 1. Better organized storage
2. Fewer and shorter transport
and handling work
3. Fewer and more efficient
heavy load lifting
Better organized storage
1. Take unnecessary materials
and products out
2. Place materials never on the
floor, but on special storage
3. Use multi-level racks
4. Provide a “home” for reach
tool and work item
Fewer and shorter transport
and handling operations
1. The more you use it, the closer it
should be
2. Use mobile racks
3. Use push-carts and hand trucks
4. Put wheels on tool stands,
containers, work-stations and
other equipment
Fewer and more efficient
lifting operations
1. Don’t lift loads higher than
necessary
2. Move materials at working height
3. Use mechanical lifting devices
for more efficient and safer
lifting
4. To raise a heavy load, keep the
back straight and use muscle
power of the leg
Materials Storage and Handling
- Three goals 1. Better organized storage
2. Fewer and shorter transport
and handling work
3. Fewer and more efficient
heavy load lifting