Category: News

Focus group discussion on health risk assessment gap analysis

22-23 March 2022 – HFEM representatives; President, Dr Ng Yee Guan and Board Member, Dr. Mohd Zubairy Shamsudin have participated in the

Focus Group Discussion – Health Risk Assessment Gap Analysis Workshop that hosted by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). The workshop was held at National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Bangi.

The workshop is part of Core Strategy 4, Program 5: Integrating Occupational Health Risk Assessment, under the Occupational Safety and Health Master Plan 2021-2025 (OSHMP 25). The Program 5 activities are centered on reviewing and improving occupational health risk assessments, which covering all workplace health hazards such as physical, chemical, ergonomic, biological, and psychosocial.

The aim of OSHMP 25 is to increase the Malaysian occupational safety and health (OSH) level in protecting human resources, which is an important asset to the country’s development program in terms of achieving the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (WKB 2030) goals.

The session was also attended by various agencies, including JKKP Putrajaya, Selangor, WP Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Pinang, Negeri Sembilan, NIOSH Malaysia, SOCSO, PETRONAS, UPM, UNISEL, UM, NGOs and consulting firms.

Hopefully, the engagement session among government agencies, industry players, higher learning institution and NGOs would realize the national OSH’s agenda in empowering the preventive culture and self-regulation.


Credit: Dr Mohd Zubairy

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Rebranding of SIG Ergonomics in Design for All (EinDfA)

28 February 2022 – HFEM Executive Board has approved the rebranding of SIG Product Design to the SIG Ergonomics in Design for All (EinDfA). This is aligned with the approach under International Ergonomics Association (IEA).

The SIG is chaired by Ts. Norashiken binti Othman (Universiti Malaysia Perlis) and support by advisor, Dr. Stephen Poon (Asia Pasific University of Technology & Innovation).

Check out the SIG upcoming events here.

 

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HFEM involved in OSH Master Plan 2025

26 February 2022 – HFEM has participated in the meeting of Pelan induk Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan 2021-2025 (OSHMP25) dan Peranan NGO Dalam Menjayakan OSHMP25.

•       MyFOSH Master Plan Workshop and MyFOSH Coordinating Council meeting. Special thanks to Ir. Dr. Majahar Abd Rahman and Tuan Mohd Farid Mastuki from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health for sharing information and guidance.

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HFEM received SOCSO grants for training

15 February 2022 – HFEM attended the Majlis Taklimat dan Penyerahan Geran Bantuan Kewangan Perkeso kepada Institut dan Badan-Badan NGO 2022, at Menara Perkeso, Kuala Lumpur. The Society was represented by the HFEM Secretary, Ts. Dr. Ahmad Khushairy Bin Makhtar.

HFEM received the total allocation of RM48,100 from PERKESO through Cawangan Pencegahan dan Promosi Kesihatan PERKESO, which would fund 11 training series under KKP Program (Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan).

This grant will be focusing on employers who are listed in SOCSO’s List of Top Accident Employers and registered as Vision Zero Company / Partner.

Previously, HFEM had submitted a proposal for 32 training series under the Geran Bantuan Kewangan Perkeso Tahun 2022 bagi Program Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan (KKP).

The training will be conducted by HFEM Special Interest Groups throughout the year.

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HFEM partnership with APOSHO

HFEM was invited to the 35th Annual General Meeting of the Asia Pacific Occupational Safety & Health Organization (APOSHO) on Friday 29th October in virtual meeting. One of the agenda of the meeting is to endorse HFEM as an APOSHO member.

Since HFEM met all the requirements, the Society was officially appointed as one of the APOSHO members on 23 January 2022.

The Asia-Pacific Occupational Safety and Health Organization (APOSHO) is an international body composed of non-profit professional organizations devoted to the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases.

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HFEM committed to be an active HRD Corp training provider

Aligned with the strategic goals of the Society, HFEM has renewed the registration as an active HRD Corp (previously known as HRDF) training provider under the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) for the second year. The certification will be active until 15th January 2023.

HFEM supports the national agenda on encouraging employers to improve the knowledge and skills of their employees and trainees. As HRD Corp training provider, an employer who contribute to the fund is eligible for subsidized training for their employees.

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HFEM Conference & ErgoLympic 2021

HFEM ends successful Human Factors and Ergonomics Conference (HFEMC) and ErgoLympic 2021

27-28 September 2021, Ampang Jaya Selangor – The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Malaysia (HFEM) ended a successful effort with the Consist College to promote human factors and ergonomics in Malaysia through its HFEMC 2021 & ErgoLympic 2021 in a Virtual Conference.

HFEM is a federated member of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) and a member of the Southeast Asian Network of Ergonomics Societies (SEANES). HFEM was established in 2010 as a non-profit organisation to promote the application of human factors and ergonomics (HFE) knowledge for design of products, systems and services. The Society offers consulting and training services to all sectors. To date, HFEM has collaborated with DOSH in developing Guidelines for Ergonomics Risk Assessment in the industry. It also supported SOCSO in ergonomics training of individuals in government and industry.

The HFEMC and ErgoLympic were held with the theme “Optimization of Performance through Human Factors and Ergonomics’ Innovation and Intervention” and was attended by 110 participants from all over Malaysia and a participant from Thailand , comprising of researchers, academicians and students and practitioners from human factors and ergonomics and also occupational health and safety.

A total of four major sponsors, including Consist College, Bussiness Event Sarawak, Khind, and CIESH, contributed to the success of this event. The success of the event has been enhanced in the presence of this sponsorship.

The Conference was officiated by the Ir. Hj. Mohd Hatta Bin Zakaria, Deputy Director General (Occupational Health), Department of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH) Malaysia. The conference featured four keynote speakers. Mr. Ishkandar Bin Md Yusoff, DOSH’s Deputy Director of Hygiene Industry and Ergonomics, talked on “Ergonomics in OSHMP2025.” Ts. Dr. Ahmad Khushairy Bin Makhtar from HFEM’s SIG for Transportation discussed “The Relationship Between Driver’s Mental Workload and Driving Performance.” Dr. Radin Zaid Radin Umar of the HFEM SIG for Engineering spoke about “Bridging Gaps Between Engineering and OSH: Ergonomics Integration in the Manufacturing Industry,” and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lilis Surienty of the HFEM SIG for Occupational Ergonomics spoke about “Safe Commuting with the Industry: A Community-Based Experience.” In addition, 20 papers were presented in the conference parallel session, with four main categories of tract: (1) Transportation, (2) Engineering & Product Design, (3) Safety & Health, and (4) Others Related to Ergonomics. There are four papers that have been chosen as winners of the best paper award, five best presenter awards for the student category, and four best presenter awards for the regular category.

In conjunction with the HFEMC 2021, the ergonomics product design competition called the ErgoLympic was held to award ergonomically best designed products and to encourage the design of products that fulfil global and local ergonomics requirements of safety, productivity, usability, and user satisfaction.

This year’s participation categories encompass educational and government institutions. A panel of highly experienced judges with more than 20 years of expertise in human factors, ergonomics and occupational safety and health decided on the winning products.

The gold medal for the best ergonomics product design was won by the product title:

Appropriating Stroke Care Protocols Through The Integration Of Product Design To Counter The Home Care Management Issue Among The Patient And Caregiver: LiPart from Universiti Sains Malaysia.

The silver award went to Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) for “Smart Ablution Workstation for Wheelchair Users,”

The bronze award went to Universiti Sains Malaysia for Appropriating Thermal Comfort Strategy Through The Integration Of Product Design To Counter Impaired Thermoregulatory Function Among Wheelchair Tennis Players: Ace-Dynamic Vest.

Ts. Dr. Ahmad Khushairy Makhtar
Secretary HFEM

 

 

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HFEM collaborates with Applied Ergonomics Society

HFEM has appointed the President, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ng Yee Guan and the Secretary, Ts. Dr. Ahmad Khushairy as the official representatives for partnership with Applied Ergonomics Society (AES).

Under this collaboration agreement, the Society will enjoy the benefits from AES as listed below:

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HFEM Experts’ Joint Statement: The LRT Train Collision Incident

KUALA LUMPUR: On the 24th May 2021, an accident of two LRT trains head-on collision shook the nation, which is an unprecedented event in the 20 plus years of its operation. A total of 213 passengers were reportedly injured; some suffered from critical injuries needing intensive care and while others needed medical attention. HFEM applaud swift Prasarana’s announcement of their immediate assistance for all victims. This is definitely a positive response expected from the operator. Our hearts and prayers go to those victims, and we pray for their speedy recovery.

Whilst it should be stressed that all accidents are preventable, human error and negligence are inevitably the most common given “excuses” for accidents as was pointed out in the preliminary report by Land Public Transport Agency (APAD). HFEM as a group of professionals on human factors and ergonomics (including safety and health) is instead very concerned over the actual root cause(s) leading to this incident.

HFEM believes that the aim of any investigation should focus on prevention by identifying the organizational and systemic problems that contribute to an accident, and promotes a “noblame” approach by focusing not on “who blundered”, but on “how and why the defenses failed” in order for arrangements to be made in the prevention of a recurrence and ensure a safer working (and commuting) environment.

Design of a complex system (or in this case, the railway system) may influence the ability of the operators to behave or perform in a safe and reliable manner. This is where the three (3) broad domains of ergonomics; physical, cognitive and organizational aspects must be considered holistically:

  • Physical ergonomics is concerned with fitting the physical characteristics of the workplace to the employees which integrates the knowledge across different subject matter – anatomy, anthropometry, biomechanics, physiology, etc.
  • Cognitive ergonomics addresses the tasks requirement in terms of mental processes (loads/burden), decision making, skills and training, human computer/machine interaction (HCI/HMI), etc.
  • Organizational ergonomics focuses on optimization of sociotechnical system such as communication, organizational culture, organizational structures, policies and processes, work design (roles and responsibilities), resource management, etc.

Human error and negligence are only the symptom, whereas human performance influencing factors such as workplace design, control panel and HMI arrangement, work procedures, environment, personnel competency, mental state and other human factors significantly affect the human behaviour and decision-making process as a system becomes more sophisticated.

By analysing the accident from a HF/E perspective, we will allow ourselves to examine the deeper, interconnecting issues that may lie within the organizational aspects, cognitive and the physical aspects leading to the accident in the first place. HFEM look forward to a thorough and holistic approach being adopted in the technical investigation and is prepared to offer services of our professionals to assist in the investigation.

As the main operator of public transportation heavily dependent on the masses in the city, the corrective actions and continuous review following the results of the investigation would be of public interest instead of playing the blame game. This will give a firm reassurance to everyone affected by the incident including the many daily users who are dependent on this mode of transportation to commute especially daily.

Ergonomics (used interchangeably with human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.”

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Malaysia (HFEM) is an interdisciplinary non-profit organization consisting of human factors and ergonomics professionals. HFEM promotes the sharing and application of knowledge concerning the characteristics of humans that are applicable to the design of products, systems, and services.

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