A new methodology for the holistic assessment of ergonomic risks: The food sector example

This study aims to evaluate the physical, mental, and psychosocial workloads of employees in the production and packaging processes of halva in the food industry from a holistic perspective. In the study, physical workload was measured using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), mental workload with the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), and psychosocial workload with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Risk Assessment (KOPSOR-TR) scales. Subsequently, the weights of the main and sub-criteria were determined using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The findings obtained from the research revealed that employees in both departments are exposed to ergonomic risks at varying levels. According to the weighted average scores in the production department, the wrist strain subcriterion of physical workload had the highest value, whereas in the packaging department, the activity score of physical workload had the highest value. As a result of the weightings made using the AHP method, it was observed that the importance weight of the physical workload was high in both departments. In total workload calculations, physical workload was shown to be more influential; although mental and psychosocial workloads were less effective, they should still be included in the calculations. Among the limitations of the study is that it was carried out in a single enterprise with a limited number of employees. Furthermore, since some of the assessment tools are based on self-reporting, there is a possibility that individual perception differences may be reflected in the results. For future studies, it is recommended to conduct similar research in different enterprises with larger and more diverse samples or by using alternative methods, such as fuzzy logic.