Design and Development of Tools Supporting Pharmacy Warehouse Operations Based on Ergonomic Principles to Reduce Cognitive Workload and Physical Workload of Employees at Chaophraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate ergonomic problems in the pharmacy warehouse of Chaophya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital and to design and develop tools to reduce workload and ergonomic risks encountered during work operations. The results revealed that the inpatient pharmacy warehouse relied primarily on a paper-based documentation system, resulting in time-consuming information retrieval, verification, and processing, which increased the mental workload of workers. In addition, workers in the central pharmacy warehouse were required to manually lift and transport heavy peritoneal dialysis solution boxes without mechanical assistance, leading to increased physical workload and a higher risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. To address these problems, an information system was designed and developed using AppSheet to reduce the mental workload of workers in the inpatient pharmacy warehouse. After implementation, the average operation time significantly decreased from 86.10 minutes per week to 31.60 minutes per week, representing a 63.30% reduction (p < 0.05). The developed system also improved the accessibility of information and supported decision-making in pharmacy warehouse management. Users reported a high level of satisfaction with the system. In addition, a prototype device was designed and developed to reduce the physical workload of workers in the central pharmacy warehouse. The effectiveness of the prototype was evaluated using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), and the results showed that the REBA score decreased from 11 (very high risk) to 2 (low risk), indicating that the prototype effectively reduced physical workload and ergonomic risks among workers. In conclusion, the developed tools effectively reduced both mental and physical workloads, improved work efficiency, and minimized ergonomic risks among pharmacy warehouse workers.