Effect of Work/rest Patterns and Lumbar Support Belt on Data-entry Task

This study explores the effects of different work/rest patterns and a lumbar support belt on data-entry work. Four different work/rest patterns – fixed, separated fixed, self-managed rest and relaxed pattern – were investigated, each pattern involving a total of 2-h typing. The first three patterns had 8 min of rest, while the rest period and frequency of the relaxed pattern were not limited. There were 11 subjects: six males and five females. Evaluation criteria were subjective assessments, near point accommodation (NPA), critical fusion frequency (CFF) and work performance. The results show that the best work/rest patterns are self-managed and relaxed resting in RPE, while fixed resting is the worst. As regards work performance, the best result is the relaxed pattern; however, it is the worst pattern when using NPA and CFF as response variables. With lumbar support belts, subjects thought that wearing them during typing restricted body movement.