Journal of the Korean Society of Safety (한국안전학회지)

The Korean Society of Safety (한국안전학회)
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Ergonomic Approach through Process Analysis of Delivery Work

택배 배송 작업의 공정분석을 통한 인간공학적 접근 방안

  • Sejung Lee (Department of Safety Engineering, Pukyong National University) ;
  • Sangeun Jin (Department of Industrial Engineering, Pusan National University) ;
  • Seong Rok Chang (Department of Safety Engineering, Pukyong National University)
  • 이세정 (부경대학교 안전공학과) ;
  • 진상은 (부산대학교 산업공학과) ;
  • 장성록 (부경대학교 안전공학과)
  • Received : 2023.09.20
  • Accepted : 2023.12.18
  • Published : 2024.02.29
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Abstract

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the logistics industry in Korea has rapidly been expanding, with offline demand concentrating on online platforms owing to the development of digital infrastructure. This has increased the workload of courier drivers considerably, along with labor intensity. A delivery driver died recently from overwork due to the continuous increase in delivery volume, which raises social concerns. Delivery drivers work long hours, (over 12 hours) and are greatly affected by weather conditions, such as snow, rain, heat waves, and cold waves. In addition, they lack a fixed workplace; perform atypical work handling workpieces of various sizes, weights, and shapes; and spend a large amount of time driving as part of their work. This work involves a high level of tension and requires attention and concentration. Despite the frequency of industrial accidents in the courier industry, studies on safety and health to quantitatively analyze and systematize the work of courier workers are very scarce. Therefore, to define the work process necessary for investigating the harmful factors in delivery service and the work analysis, this study conducted interviews and on-site surveys to analyze the unit work of the delivery service by targeting delivery workers. In other words, a framework of unit work for work analysis was presented to enable research and analysis by considering the aforementioned characteristics of the courier industry. The process was broadly divided into work, transport, storage, delay, and inspection. Work was divided into loading, sorting, unloading, and door subcategories, and transportation was divided into vehicle, cart, and walking subcategories as well as 10 small processes. Moreover, 22 unit works were again drawn by conducting field surveys and interviews. The risk of unit work derived from this study was ergonomically evaluated, and the ergonomic analysis revealed that uploading and transportation were the most dangerous. The results of this study could be used as basic data for preventing industrial accidents among courier workers, whose work has increased with the logistics volume and the development of the logistics industry.

Keywords

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