Sains Malaysiana 42(12)(2013): 1815–1818

 

Effect of Temperature, Humidity and Illuminance Towards Worker's Performance

in Automotive Industry

(Kesan Suhu, Kelembapan, Pencahayaan Terhadap Prestasi Pekerja Dalam Industri Automotif)

 

MOHD YUSRI MOHD YUSOF¹, BABA MD. DEROS¹* & AHMAD RASDAN ISMAIL²

 

¹Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

 

²Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 26600 Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia

 

Received: 2 April 2012/Accepted: 18 June 2012

 

ABSTRACT

Working environmental conditions in automotive industry are very challenging to the human workers. Meanwhile, products quality is very much dependent on workers’ health, safety and comfort in their working environment. Environmental factors, such as: temperature, illuminance and humidity levels have significant effect on workers’ performance at the production line. In this experiment, temperature, humidity, illuminance levels and productivity rate were observed in a control room. An automotive manufacturing firm production line was chosen to be simulated in the control room to observe the temperature, relative humidity, illuminance and worker’s productivity rate. The experimental data collected was analyzed using Response Surface Method (RSM). RSM is an analysis technique, which combined statistical systems and mathematical methods. It can be applied for research and development, reform and optimize a process, which involves several design variables. As a result, the combined effect of temperature, illuminance and humidity toward productivity can be clearly seen. Optimum environmental factor cannot be predicted using first order RSM analysis because it gives low reliability for obtaining the optimum level. Thus, a second order RSM analysis was generated for obtaining the optimum level of environmental factors.

 

Keywords: Environmental; humidity; illuminance; response surface method; temperature

 

ABSTRAK

Keadaan persekitaran tempat kerja dalam industri automotif sangat mencabar para pekerja. Sementara itu, kualiti produk sangat bergantung kepada keselamatan, kesihatan dan keselesaan pekerja di persekitaran tempat kerja mereka. Faktor persekitaran seperti suhu, pencahayaan dan tahap kelembapan mempunyai kesan yang signifikan ke atas prestasi pekerja di bahagian pengeluaran. Dalam eksperimen ini, pengaruh suhu, kelembapan, pencahayaan dan kadar produktiviti telah diperhatikan di dalam sebuah bilik uji kaji terkawal. Satu bahagian pengeluaran firma pembuatan automotif telah dipilih untuk disimulasikan bagi memerhatikan pengaruh suhu, kelembapan relatif, pencahayaan dan kadar produktiviti pekerja. Data eksperimen yang dikumpul telah dianalisis dengan menggunakan Kaedah Tindak balas Permukaan (RSM). RSM merupakan teknik analisis yang menggabungkan sistem statistik dan kaedah matematik. Ia boleh digunakan bagi tujuan penyelidikan dan pembangunan, penggubalan dan proses pengoptimuman yang melibatkan pelbagai pemboleh ubah. Hasilnya, kesan gabungan suhu, pencahayaan dan kelembapan ke arah produktiviti dapat diperlihatkan dengan jelas. Faktor persekitaran yang optimum tidak boleh diramalkan dengan menggunakan analisis RSM tertib pertama kerana ia memberikan tahap keboleharapan yang rendah untuk mendapatkan tahap optimum. Oleh itu, analisis RSM tertib kedua perlu dijana untuk mendapatkan tahap optimum faktor persekitaran.

 

Kata kunci: Kaedah tindak balas permukaan; kelembapan; pencahayaan; persekitaran; suhu

 

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*Corresponding author; email: hjbaba@eng.ukm.my