Yue Hang Tan

Ergonomics aspects of knob designs: a literature review

Hand-related apparatus designs that fail to accommodate appropriate hand postures can cause hand-related musculoskeletal disorders. While there have been studies on the handling and design of various hand-related apparatus, little has been written on the ergonomics aspects of knob designs. The aim of this paper is to review various knob designs and their ergonomics aspects. The literature review suggests that gearshift knobs, door knobs, gas valve knobs, butterfly nuts and screw knobs are common knobs used for daily living activities. Other knobs like the convex, knurled, spherical, cone-shaped and ridged knob are often used for industrial-related applications. The ergonomics considerations identified in knobs include aesthetic attraction, position, torque requirement and shape-coding. This literature review can be used as groundwork for the development of ergonomics theory and hand-related studies. Engineers can use this literature review to identify certain ergonomics aspects in knobs to improve equipment designs, operating efficiency and working comfort.

A Review of Ergonomic Tools and Apparatus for the Ageing Population

This paper presents a review of ergonomic garden tools and kitchen apparatus for the ageing population. The purpose of this review is to enable the ageing population to carry out daily activities in the garden and in the kitchen in a less strenuous manner. First, a general review was made on the ergonomic aspect of the garden tool known as Appel Spade. Another review on the ergonomic aspect of the kitchen apparatus was done on the Eggcurate Digital Kitchen Scale. With these reviews, both ergonomic advantages and disadvantages of the Appel Spade and Eggcurate Digital Kitchen Scale are highlighted and then tabulated. Based on the reviews, recommendations are proposed for future potential enhancements in terms of the ergonomic aspects to provide the ageing population a more comfortable experience using these tools and apparatus.

Roles of Pinch Grips in Different Knob Selections among Malaysian Manufacturing Workers

The development of hand-related musculoskeletal injuries can be caused by pinch grips that fail to accommodate different control interfaces. One of the frequently used control interfaces in manufacturing industries is the knob. To date, there are limited statistical studies that investigate and support how different ways of executing pinch grips affect the selections of different knobs, even though there have been some studies theoretically suggesting a relation between different pinch grips and shapes of knobs. The purpose of this paper is to determine the roles of different pinch grips on the knob selections of a number of manual workers from Malaysian manufacturing firms. Regression analysis is used for this study. Survey responses were entered into Minitab 16 for analysis. The findings show that majority of the workers normally use the pulp pinch and lateral pinch, and prefer to use the lateral pinch for their manual tasks. The selection of these pinch grips also considerably affects the selection of the knobs that the workers control. The findings are valuable preliminary guidelines for identifying the ideal pinch grips that accommodate different knobs to potentially reduce hand-related injuries in Malaysian manufacturing industries.

Influences of Body Position Selections on Knob Selections in Malaysian Manufacturing Industries

Muscle fatigue and the development of hand-related musculoskeletal injuries can be caused by body positions that fail to accommodate control interfaces such as control knobs. There appear to be limited studies that investigate how different selections of body positions affect various selections of knobs, despite the fact that some articles have presented theoretical associations between different body positions and knob shapes. The goal of this paper is to determine the influences of body position selections on the knob selections of manual workers from several Malaysian manufacturing industries. A survey and observational studies were conducted, with over 70 responses collected for the survey and 79 responses collected for the observation. The survey responses were entered into Minitab 16 for the analysis, while the observation responses were sorted by frequency. The results show that the majority of the workers normally and preferably use the standing, seated and kneeling position for their manual work. The selections of the body positions that the workers assume also considerably affect the knob selections.

A Review of China's Technological Developments in the 20th Century

This paper presents a review of China’s technological development in the 20th century. The purpose of the review is to study the major technological inventions achieved by China in the 20th century that has brought significant impact to China’s technological development. In the 20th century, China has made great achievements in the field of space technology and also atomic energy. In space technology, China launched its very first satellite, Dong Fang1 (DFH1) (translated as Red East 1) and continued to improvise it in terms of performance in the field of spaceflight technology. In the same century, China also explored the area of atomic energy by building its very first nuclear-powered submarine, Chang Zheng 1 (translated as Long March 1). These technological developments achieved in the 20th century allowed China to be a step ahead of many other countries towards the advancement of technology. It is hoped that this review on Chinas influential role in the technological developments of the 20th century can be used as a useful references for other countries that wish to embark upon rapid and progressive technological developments.