Correlational Analysis Between Physical Discomfort and Ergonomic Assessment of Coconut Grating Process on Philippine Public Markets

In the Philippines, the process of coconut milk extraction (including coconut grating) is commonly aided by a semiautomated machine but due to long working hours, workers performing manual operation often report physical discomfort and fatigue. This study aims to address the issue by optimizing the layout and processes involved in coconut grating. Results of several postural assessments, including Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), show that the workers operating in the existing process are exposed to high ergonomic risk. Meanwhile, the body areas that are critically affected were identified using the CMDQ which revealed that majority of workers felt discomfort mostly on their forearm, wrist, upper arm, shoulder, lower back, and upper back. A moderate to strong correlation between RULA total scores and CMDQ scores was found using the Spearman Rho's correlation analysis with a p-value of 0.037 and beta coefficient of 0.457. To mitigate the ergonomic risks in the coconut grating process, a new workstation design was created and proposed by the researchers using Siemens Tecnomatix Process Simulate, employing ergonomic principles that are applicable for improvement.