Work Design in Apparel Sector

Abstract

The human-centered design approach can be defined as the sum of the methods and procedures that make it possible to carry out each evaluation and design intervention, starting with an awareness. It is a philosophy of intervention that places not only people’s needs and expectations, but above all people at the center of the design and production process for products, environments, and systems. Human-centered design is an interactive system development approach that aims to make systems usable and useful by focusing on users, their needs and requirements, and by applying human factors/ergonomics and usability knowledge and techniques. This approach increases efficiency and productivity, improves human well-being, user satisfaction, accessibility and sustainability, and eliminates the potential negative effects of use on human health, safety, and performance. Proper design and improvements in working conditions and work organization can result in increased productivity and competitiveness. In this context, work design is an extremely important issue in the apparel industry, which is one of the largest industries in the world.

1. Introduction

Despite the transition to automation along with technological developments, enterprises still need physical manpower. In addition to the increasing mechanization due to technological developments, it is necessary to pay attention to the working conditions and satisfaction of the employee due to the necessity of the human factor in the working environment. Especially in the apparel sector, which is a labor-intensive sector despite rapid technological developments, the effects of the employees on production are great, and the layout of the working environment directly affects the productivity of the employee. The productivity of the employees in the apparel sector, which is a labor-intensive sector, greatly affects the productivity, profitability, and product quality of the enterprise.

In this context, there are various principles that can be used to design real working environments in accordance with ergonomic conditions and to enable employees to work with healthier working postures. The additional cost of an ergonomic design to be carried out in the light of these principles will be very low and insignificant when compared with the cost that will arise due to working in working environments with inadequate health and safety conditions that were not designed in the light of these main principles. Many of the problems encountered in work environments can be avoided by following current health and safety regulations and guidelines on good practice. In this context, it will be possible to evaluate the tasks in the workplace, to implement some preventive rules, and to make workplaces safer environments in this context with appropriate workstation designs.

There are risk factors for employees in a working environment that does not comply with ergonomic criteria. For this reason, the working environments in the apparel sector and all the work of the employees should be arranged in a way that will meet the ergonomic conditions and make the people the least difficult.

Problems caused by the workstation arranged without taking into account the characteristics of the human body and anthropometric values can lead to short-term or chronic health problems. In many studies, it has been shown that occupational accidents and occupational diseases are caused by incompatibility of the working machine, and this issue is not given enough attention.

In this regard, special attention should be paid to and considered the common postures found in the enterprises environment, the postures that should be considered when designing workplace products or spaces. These postures:

• Standing

• Sitting

• Reaching

• Moving [1]

Improper working postures constitute one of the primary risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders, from minor back pain to severe disability. It is important to take proactive steps to assess and mitigate the problem. Therefore, early identification of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and the risk factors that cause these disorders is important. More appropriate working postures have positive effects on the musculoskeletal system, allow more effective control of working performance, and reduce occupational accidents [2].

In this context, whenFigure 1 is examined (photos taken in apparel enterprises in Turkey in 2022), it is possible to see the workplace design and working postures of machine operators and quality control employees in the apparel sector. Employees in different working postures have to work in these positions for long hours. Many situations such as excessive bending, working in the same position all the time, sitting or standing all the time affect the employees negatively. At the same time, when the photograph is examined, it is possible to say that the workplace environment is not designed ergonomically.

Figure 1.

Working Postures (Photos by Kaya).

The workspace and equipment design features that enable employees to take a more upright posture with less trunk or neck flexion are not possible with the tools and equipment given in Figure 1 and the chairs and tables used. In this respect, it is extremely important for enterprises to pay attention to the use of ergonomically designed tools and equipment and to the points specified in terms of employee health and operating efficiency.

Work-related factors that are related to work-related musculoskeletal disorders and accelerate the discomfort process are considered as important ergonomic risk factors. Ergonomic risk factors include heavy lifting, repetitive movements, reaching, pulling, turning, etc., long-term work and intense focusing, and inappropriate working postures [3]. At the same time, personal protective equipment is another important factor in terms of risk formation. Personal protective equipment including clothing, gloves, or equipment can help minimize risk factors in the workplace. Equipment such as masks, earplugs, safety glasses, chemical aprons, safety shoes, and hard hats are also among the personal protective equipment.

When Figure 2 is examined, it is seen that there are finger guards that must be worn while using cutting robots, and that there are employees who work with earplugs, which machine operators who work with loud noise have to use. The use of these personal protective equipment by employees is extremely important for occupational health and safety. Especially finger protectors are extremely important equipment in the prevention of work accidents that may occur when using cutting machines. In addition, the role of earplugs is extremely important in the sector where partial or long-term hearing loss is experienced as a result of long exposure to loud noise.

Figure 2.

Working with personal protective equipment (Photos by Kaya).

It is an important step for the employees to have the necessary knowledge about these equipment and to receive training on why they should be used, at the point of preventing the occurrence of risk. The correct use of personal protective equipment is an important factor that prevents the occurrence of work accidents and occupational diseases. Otherwise, there will be more risk [4, 5].

The use of personal protective equipment is important in minimizing ergonomic risks, and therefore, it should be checked whether the employees use their personal protective equipment correctly. These checks are generally intended to prevent some personal injury. It is also necessary that the controls are strictly monitored to ensure that they reduce or eliminate ergonomic risk factors and prevent the formation of new risk factors [6, 7].

When the work environment is suitable for the anatomical, physiological, psychological characteristics and capacity of the individual doing the work, harmony is achieved between the work and the person doing the work, and thus, the highest efficiency can be achieved with the least fatigue.

At the same time, in the source prepared by the ILO, edited by Hiba (1998) [8], the point especially emphasized is that improvements in working conditions and work organization can result in increased productivity and competitiveness. In this context, the work environment designs of the apparel sector should be created by considering multifaceted.

Especially the design and manufacture of clothing are an area in which very good improvements can be made. Many small industries are known to manufacture standard garments for retailers under very stringent conditions and procedures. For this reason, the improvement of these processes is very important for the sector.

When Figure 3 is examined, it is seen that the work stations are scattered and at a level that may endanger work safety. This situation may distract the employee, as well as carry risks that may cause various injuries due to crashes and scattering.

Figure 3.

Working Environments of the Apparel Sector (Photos by Kaya).

Work design plays an important role in optimizing employee performance. It is important to focus on work design to increase job satisfaction and motivation of employees. Effective work design measures the extent to which the employee is involved in tasks and tasks [9].

For these reasons, ergonomic regulation of the working environment is extremely important in reducing both employee job satisfaction and motivation and especially the problems arising from ergonomic risk factors.

Despite the developing technology, the apparel sector is a labor-intensive industry. With the increasing competitive environment, situations such as unsuitable working postures, continuous and repetitive works, inappropriate work designs, and time pressure in the apparel sector cause many problems (especially musculoskeletal system problems). In this context, ergonomics is an important tool in the prevention of work-related physical or mental disorders.

In this context, with this study, the work design processes and current situations of enterprises operating in the apparel sector have been revealed, and some sector-specific suggestions have been developed at the point of what should be done by making some determinations.

2. Work design

“Good work” is healthy and safe work in which hazards and risks are eliminated or minimized, as far as reasonably practicable. Good work is also where work design optimizes human performance, job satisfaction, and productivity.

Good work includes positive work elements that can:

• Protect employees from harm to their health, safety, and welfare.

• Improve employee health and well-being, and.

• Increase work success through higher worker productivity [10].

Work design, on the other hand, means “the content and organization of one’s work tasks, activities, relationships and responsibilities” [11].

Work design also means the content, structure, and organization of tasks and activities. It is often examined in terms of work characteristics such as autonomy, workload, role issues, and feedback. Throughout history, work design has moved from focusing only on efficiency and productivity to more motivating work designs, including the social approach to work, Herzberg’s two-factor model, Hackman and Oldham’s work features model, Karasek’s work demand control model, and the social approach to work. Like Warr’s vitamin model and work, Bakker and Demerouti’s resource demand model. The models make it clear that various work characteristics make up the quality of work design that benefits both employees and employers. Work design:

• Employee health and well-being,

• Attitudes such as job satisfaction and commitment,

• Employee cognitions and learning, and

• It is about productivity, absenteeism, proactivity, and innovation.

Personal characteristics of the employee play an important role in work design. They influence how employees perceive and seek specific work characteristics, help in understanding how work design exerts its impact, and have the potential to change the impact of work design.

In the literature, specific approaches to work design have tended to focus primarily on improving the design of work or enterprises processes in order to increase employee motivation and performance, although health and well-being are often considered the results of these approaches.

From the point of view of the Elements of Good Work Design, when making decisions about work tasks, activities, and responsibilities, there are usually four elements that interact together:

• Physical Elements: Aspects of the work environment or context that place physical or physiological demands on the human body.

• Biomechanical Aspects: Aspects of work including hazardous manual tasks and biomechanical risk factors leading to musculoskeletal disorders.

• Cognitive Aspects: Aspects of the work that place demands on human mental capacity.

• Psychosocial Aspects: Social, psychological, and organizational aspects of work, human capacities.

It has been consistently shown that these elements of work, summarized in Figure 4, have a significant impact on employees in terms of mental health, safety, well-being, and performance [12].

Figure 4.

Key Elements of Work Including Physical, Biomechanical, Psychosocial, and Cognitive [12].

Billions of people spend most of their waking lives at work, so there’s a good chance that work can be a positive feature of life.

Whether the work is beneficial or harmful depends largely on how it was designed. Therefore, work design is defined as the content, structure, and organization of one’s tasks and activities [11, 13].

Work design researchers have considered each of these aspects when designing works, whether biological (e.g., related to noise and lift), ergonomic (e.g., lighting, information input), motivational (e.g., autonomy, diversity) or mechanical (e.g., specialization, simplification) work characteristics.

The most effective design process begins at the earliest opportunity, in the conceptual and planning stages. At this early stage, it is great luck to find ways to design hazards, to incorporate effective risk control measures and efficiencies in design Figure 5.

Figure 5.

Good work design principles [10].

The effective design of good work takes into account: Work:

• How work is done, including the physical, mental, and emotional demands of tasks and activities;

• Task duration, frequency, and complexity; and.

• The context and systems of the work [10].

Different outcomes of work design have been highlighted in the work design literature. While Taylor mostly focused on performance, most motivational and health-oriented work design models focused on employee well-being and attitudes. But none of the existing work design models has fully done justice to the rich empirically examined results. The immediate, i.e., individual-level outcomes of work design are grouped here in terms of health and well-being, cognitions and learning, attitudes and behaviors [14, 15].

As with the study, creation, and modification of the composition, content, structure, and environment in which works and roles are enacted, the discipline of work design plays a central role in understanding what makes work important to individuals. An integrative work design model that takes into account various work and employee characteristics in the task, social, and contextual domains, integrating research on work and team design, is extremely important at this point (Figure 6) [16].

Figure 6.

Integrative framework of work design [16].

Alongside this integrative work design, while all new technologies and materials present new occupational health and safety hazards, digitalization and automation have the potential to improve working conditions and the safety and health of employees in industries that have struggled for many years to protect and prevent employees from work-related risks (such as accidents, injuries, and diseases).

This potential includes:

• Laser cutters and sewing robots can take on repetitive and hazardous tasks, meaning fewer employees are exposed to hazardous chemicals or injuries associated with repetitive movements and long working hours.

• New environmentally friendly methods have been invented to eliminate the exposure of employees to silicosis instead of traditional sandblasting of jeans. Their use is also extremely important for health.

• Use of solar panels and other forms of renewable energy (can reduce reliance on highly polluting diesel-powered generators and industries can significantly reduce their use of them.)

• Resource-efficient equipment can significantly reduce industries’ energy and water use and improve their environmental footprint.

• Low-cost technologies such as fire alarms, sprinkler systems, fire doors, or air conditioning can save lives and increase productivity [17].

In the light of this information, it is extremely important to make workplace designs with a more ergonomic approach for work design in the apparel sector in general and to implement this with all stakeholders, employers, and employees, and taking their opinions. In this context, the most important elements to be considered in ergonomic workplace design should be:

• Postures; especially awkward-inappropriate postures that can cause health problems. (OWAS observation method can be used for posture analysis) There are many ergonomic methods for assessing postures [18], and they differ in the body region they evaluate [19, 20].

• Working environment with working conditions such as noise, heat, humidity, lighting, air velocity [21, 22].

• The design of the production process, taking into account all the tasks performed by the employee, especially repetitive tasks. (The weight of the manufacturing parts is also an important factor.)

3. Ergonomic work design in the apparel sector

The Fourth Industrial Revolution will devastatingly change the world of labor, especially with automation and artificial intelligence. It will greatly affect employees, especially in labor-intensive manufacturing industries such as textiles and apparel, footwear, and electronics. According to the forecast of the German Smart Factories, the automation of the industrial production process will be a step toward the creation of a social network of machines and factories communicating with each other through artificial intelligence, and this will be accomplished within the next decade. This means that many jobs will be lost, with many new jobs created.

Textile and apparel manufacturing is now considered a high-risk sector of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the apparel sector is a major concern for government, enterprises, unions, and employees due to its high labor intensity [23].

Enterprises where apparel is produced are among the labor-intensive industries that require less capital compared with other industries in terms of their production structures. Despite the developing technologies, the apparel sector still maintains its labor-intensive structure.

In terms of the work done in the apparel sector, the employees do the works such as design, cutting, sewing, production, ironing, and packaging [24]. Due to the nature of these works, it is inevitable that there will be some work-related problems. Health problems, occupational diseases, and occupational accidents are among the frequently encountered situations, especially in terms of workstations that are not ergonomically designed and the tools used. Although the severity of these problems depends on the nature of the work, limited and continuous work postures, and very repetitive actions, it is a fact that the role of ergonomic risk factors is great. A lot of research has been done on this situation in the apparel sector, especially on working conditions and related problems [25, 26, 27, 28, 29]. The findings obtained in these studies revealed the effects of restricted postures, inappropriate body postures, working in the same position, repetitive movements, and especially ergonomically not designed workstations and tools used on employees.

At the same time, as Ahasan and Rabiul [30] stated in their research, the poor design of the workplace and the equipment used negatively contributes to the physical discomfort experienced by the employees. This situation may be related to the noncompliance with the labor laws and the decisions and practices of the International Labor Organization in the apparel sector in many other developed countries, especially in underdeveloped countries [31].

Recognizing and identifying ergonomic risk factors in apparel enterprises are an important first step in correcting hazards and protecting workers and improving workstations [32]. At this point, in relation to the reasons we have mentioned, work design in the apparel sector maintains its warmth in every period as an extremely important issue.

Although the apparel sector is in the less dangerous class, there are many dangers that can cause work accidents and occupational diseases in the sector. Ergonomic risks are at the forefront of these dangers, and the discomforts caused by ergonomic risks are among the priority problems in the sector. Back, waist, shoulder pain, pain in the hands, arms, elbows, burning, neck straightening, pain in the feet and legs, eye problems are the most common complaints of the employees in the sector [33]. When the apparel production stages are observed, it is seen that the employees are either constantly sitting or constantly working on their feet (Figures 1–3). Sitting employees work constantly by using their hands, arms, and eyes in the same position during working hours, adjustable and non-ergonomic work tables and chairs, insufficient lighting in the environment, unsuitable thermal comfort conditions, the continuity of the work, and the necessity of getting up according to the production schedule, these can cause health problems for the employees. Similar problems exist for standing employees. Especially during the whole working period, many musculoskeletal system problems occur due to working all day long directly on the hard ground. In addition, employees working in manual handling works such as carrying, stacking, and loading fabric balls on the bench are also exposed to ergonomic risks. Ergonomics is an important tool in solving the problems encountered in these workstations due to exposure or wrong doing (working postures, repetitive and continuous work, etc.) and the tools used.

Ergonomics also plays an important role in areas where conflicts between man and machine arise. It adapts the work to the person by touching different components to a single system so that each component can work in sync with the others. These components include the employee, the work environment, both physical and organizational tasks, and workspace.

In Figure 7, a general and specific press machine workstation image of the workstations belonging to the apparel enterprises is given.

Figure 7.

Apparel Sector Work Environment and Press Machine Workstation (Photos by Kaya).

When Figure 7 is examined, it is seen that the workstations belonging to different units in the enterprises are not ergonomically designed. When the photographs are examined, it is seen that ergonomic problems cause some problems among the employees, especially in the sewing, cutting, and ironing sections, and as a result of the observations, the incompatibility between the human and machine interface is more evident in the sewing and cutting sections. In this respect, the study focused more on these two parts.

In the cutting department (Figure 8), during the loading, spreading, cutting, and stacking of the fabric on the laying machine, some problems are experienced due to workstations that are not ergonomically designed, and that the height, width, cutting area of the cutting tables are not adjustable according to the employee, and some problems arise due to the inconvenience of view and operation area. Appears to be happening. At the same time, it is seen that the cutting robots, hand knives, and sawmills used during cutting are positioned on tables that cannot be adjusted in height, and they carry risks in terms of occupational accidents due to being out of sight of the employee or very close to them.

Figure 8.

Cutting department (Photos by Kaya).

Considering the sewing department of different work given in the photographs, it is noteworthy that there are a number of unsuitable problems in terms of sewing tables, chairs and tables used, floor surface, working area, ambient lighting, and ventilation. It is possible to solve these problems with some simple but mandatory regulations. Considering that these departments (especially the sewing department) are the departments that employ the most employees, it will be understood once again how necessary and important the work design is Figure 9.

Figure 9.

Sewing department (Photos by Kaya).

Many sectoral research studies show that the sewing department draws attention as the department where the most problems are experienced in the apparel sector and where the most work development, ergonomic arrangement, and different work designs are applied. In this respect, every study that contributes to the sector is extremely important.

Figure 10 shows the non-adjustable fabric control units and the warehouse section with a dangerous design. In particular, problems such as the random laying of fabric balls on the ground and the absence of lifting tools are extremely problematic for the employee. In the other photo (Figure 10 on the right), the warehouse section, which is not ergonomically designed, is seen. The scattered and uncontrolled parcels around the wheeled ladder create a work environment that can move at any time without a stopper and cause serious injury to the employee. At the same time, stacking products at points that are far above the access point of the employee, even with a ladder, will bring many work accidents. Therefore, as a whole, these problems unfortunately stand out as problems encountered in almost every apparel enterprises. Identifying these problems and developing an appropriate work design are extremely important for employee health and safety.

Figure 10.

Fabric Control and Warehouse Department (Photos by Kaya).

Apparel sector features that can be developed to prevent injuries include the following.

• Communication,

• Participation of employees in decision-making processes,

• Education and training of employees and management on preventive strategies, and.

• Ergonomic conditions in the factory.

To summarize briefly, the apparel sector is generally seen as a safe place to work and there are relatively few serious accidents in industries, apparel factories, compared with other industries. The hazards are different when compared with other sectors. Major health risks in this sector do not usually arise from sudden, potentially deadly hazards. Instead, the risks apparel workers face stem from more subtle hazards whose effects build up over time. Sewing machine operators face a significantly higher risk of muscle soreness and injury than employees in other occupations. Studies also show that the frequency of permanent neck and shoulder injuries increases with years of employment. As Saravanan points out (2011) [34], sewing machine operators experience as many repetitive strain injuries as data entry operators and secretaries combined. These injuries can have long-term health effects. In the light of all this information, it is once again revealed that the apparel sector, which is one of the most important sectors in the world, has the highest employment and plays an important role in the economic development of many countries, should have suitable working conditions. At the point of what needs to be done for this, it is recommended to develop work design models with the participation of the necessary experts and all stakeholders and to make working conditions more humane.

4. Conclusion

This study includes the evaluation of whether the workstations in the enterprises, the tools, and equipment used in the enterprises are ergonomic, and especially the workplace designs, which affect the health and work efficiency of the employees in the apparel sector. At the same time, the importance of work design in the sector was emphasized with the study and the fact that ergonomics awareness, which is of vital importance in work design, is very low. In this context, the importance of ergonomic information and ergonomic analysis in work design has been emphasized once again with the study, and its effect on employees has been evaluated specifically for the enterprises where the application is made and the photos are taken.

It is seen that there is a need for a wide area of development in work design, machine layout, use of equipment, and working conditions in order to provide maximum comfort to the employees in order to increase the health and well-being of the employees. For this reason, the following suggestions are presented to enterprises in the apparel sector:

In areas where work is intense such as working in inappropriate positions (cutting, production, quality control, packaging), repetitive movements (cutting, production, quality control, packaging), carrying by hand (storage, transportation), sitting, standing constantly, whole body and hand-arm vibration, especially:

• Employees should be provided with a chair or stool where they can sit at certain intervals. Care should be taken to ensure that these chairs and stools are also ergonomic.

• The work table should be adjustable for work at different heights. If it is not possible to adjust the work area, the desk should be raised using the support for tall employees. Short employees should be provided to work on a platform.

• Foot rest supports should be used. These supports will prevent the feeling of pain in the feet and allow the employee to change position. Thus, complaints of pain in the back and legs will be reduced.

• Ergonomic mats should be used to prevent hard floor contact, especially for those who work standing up, especially in departments such as quality control, ironing, and cutting.

• As seen in Figures 1 and 8, the seats are hard and wooden, and they also do not have a back support to make the employee comfortable when taking a break to rest the upper body after stressful work such as bending the trunk and neck. Especially the machine operators working in the sewing department work in the same position and sitting throughout the day. Necessary actions should be taken to ensure that the work desks, machines, and environments of these employees become more ergonomic. In this context, the workstation design should be ergonomically rearranged. Therefore, the workspace and equipment design features that can be a solution to these problems should also be ergonomic.

• Floors must be clean, flat, and non-slip.

• The tools and equipment used must be carefully selected and used. During the use of hand knives, care should be taken to use suitable gloves and to have protective shoes on the feet. The use of the right tools and protective equipment for each task and the right way to work in any work and any safe working procedures (for example, attention should be paid to the frequency of blade changes, warning signals should be worn while the blade is in motion in motorized and automatic cutting tables, the five-finger chain mail glove should be suitable for all operators and suitable for use at all times during the cutting process and when handling the blades during the cutting process and should be fully adjustable to cover the exposed portion of the cutting blade must be installed in enclosures to the machines automatically.) must be followed with care.

In this context, in the study, possible solutions have been proposed to expand the database of working conditions in enterprises in the apparel sector with an ergonomic evaluation of the working conditions of employees and to overcome the observed problems.

In this context, the ergonomic approach has been gradually expanded from an objective assessment of the safety and compatibility conditions of work environments, equipment, and products to a design action based on knowledge and interpretation of people’s needs and expectations and all aspects—objective and subjective.

Working conditions force employees to design their works correctly in order to work efficiently, achieve goals, and maintain sustainable productivity and health.

With appropriate education and training, machine protection, personal protective equipment, and ergonomically designed working systems, apparel employees can produce products in safe and healthy workplaces. The apparel sector should constantly define the problems and, more importantly, it should not forget that the ergonomic solution of the problems is possible with the appropriate work design.