Abu Hamja

TL;DR: The results suggest that it is possible to apply lean without adverse effects for workers, if OHS risks are taken into consideration, however, possible long-term effects on workers' health need to be further investigated.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the relationship between occupational health and safety (OHS) and operational practices in 50 selected garment factories in the context of a developing country (Bangladesh).

Abstract: The goal of this study is to investigate the change in productivity in the garments production floor initiated by lean and to assess the possible consequences for health and safety of workers. The study covers six garments factories where production lines with 250 sewing machine operators were included. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied. Three key lean tools (VSM, 5S, Time and Motion Study) have been applied and significant changes in productivity were found. Subsequently the actual changes initiated by lean have been assessed. The ergonomic assessment shows that the tangible lean changes tended to have either a neutral or a positive effect on OHS, whereas negative consequences were limited to attempts in pushing workers to work faster. The latter is not necessarily an inherent part of the lean methodology. The paper thus suggests that there may be possibilities for using lean to improve OHS and that the frequent critique of lean for intensifying work may not always be true. However, more research is necessary to study long term consequence for both productivity and OHS.

TL;DR: In this article , Reinforced fiber polymer (FRP) concrete materials were used to mold cylindrical specimens, which underwent mechanical tests for mechanical properties, including tensile and compressive strength.