Starting next month I'm asked to evaluate a new pilot line in automobile production. Its all about break design. So when should workers take breaks and how long should they be? Is there any benefit in more short breaks? Do more breaks enhance the worklife?
To answer those questions we plan on using questionaires and measurement methods. What questionaire should we use? For measurements we planned on heart-rate before an after the break and maybe cortisol-values in the morning and in the evening compared to a control group?
I met polish version of work break estimation - L. Pago method, but I can,t find English version and any kind of evaluation of that method. From the physiological point of view rest time was estimated by Groover, M. P. (2007). Work systems: the methods, measurement and management of work, Prentice Hall, ISBN 978-0-13-140650-6,
Have you thought about a discomfort scale to pick up risk of musculoskeletal symptoms?
You might look at the SAFTE model http://www.ibrinc.org/index.php?id=112
and the fatigue avoidance scheduling tool.
Industrial ergonomics knowledge recommends "short and frequent" vs. "long and infrequent" breaks. Length and frequency should be based on severity of effort, work environment conditions(e.g. climate), worker profile (e.g. age) and cognitive requirements (e.g. mentally focused). I would recommend to take a look at Pulat's "Industrial Ergonomics". Questionnaires would help to determine subjective severity of work effort and work environment.
When we talk about recovery periods, it is clear than criteria should be diferent depending on the kind of task they ane doing (nature of biomechanical demand they are exposed).
For upper limb repetitive movements, I suggest to review the OCRA index (refered in ISO 11228-3 and EN 1005-5). To start reading one of the original references can be recommended: "E. OCCHIPINTI (1998): OCRA: a concise index for the
assessment of exposure to repetitive movements of the upper limbs, Ergonomics,
41:9, 1290-1311"
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