Ergonomic_in_Hospitality_Industry

BACKGROUND Tanjong Jara Resort is one of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World which has officially opened on March 1st, 1979 and in earlier times this resort was owned by The Tourist Development of Malaysia and changes the hand of management to YTL Hotels and Properties. This sanctuary of luxury and well-being steeped in age-old Malay traditions resort is located at the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia or to be more specific, it is located at Terengganu, Malaysia. This resort contains about ninety-nine (99) room and most of the rooms are designed to reflect the elegance and grandeur of 17th century Malay palaces. Tanjong Jara Resort provides the guests with an authentic taste of the region's spirit and an enduring embodiment of the gentle Malay art of service and hospitality. This resort has their own concept which is based on Malay concept of “SuciMurni” and stress on the purity of spirit, health as well as the well being. The purity of spirit is emphasis on each functional department of the resort and the employees itself as this can bring pureness, honest and sincerity in everyone in doing their work to improve the management as the purity of spirit are internally come from the heart and to win the guests heart, trust and more likely to become a loyal guest at Tanjong Jara Resort whenever they come and visit Terengganu. Health from the concept of Tanjong Jara Resort are strictly stress on cleanliness and physical condition of employees and guests to maintain the performance of the resort and to avoid any unpredictable cases regarding the health. The concept of well being that Tanjong Jara Resort concerns is about happiness, comfort, security, welfare and safety of the stakeholders. Stakeholders here are the guests, employees, suppliers and shareholders, where the resort needs to fulfill each party interest to achieve the resort objectives. The impact of the concept of Tanjong Jara Resort is it will encourage the true rejuvenation of both body and spirit along with satisfaction on very stakeholders. As like the other resorts and hotels, Tanjong Jara Resort provides the facilities and services such as pools, The Tanjong Club, conference hall, tennis court, and library and so on. The restaurant at Tanjong Jara Resort give different experience where the guest can choose either they want to have their dinner facing the sea, over the river, above the river, in trishaw, at pools or BBQ in the guest private room. Guest at Tanjong Jara Resort can choose the accommodation depends on their affordability where the resort offering three types of accommodation at different prices. The most expensive room is called Anjung Room and there are only ten (10) rooms for this type. Then, followed by Serambi Room, where the resort only offers forty-four (44) rooms for this type of room. Lastly, the Bumbung Room conquered the rooms’ availability since it is cheaper than other type of room. The Malay culture and heritage are clearly present in every aspect of this resort, from the way the rooms and suites are designed, the elaborate details in the woodwork, to the Gamelan music played every evening. Tanjong Jara Resort had made a promise that every guest who came will experience the "Unmistakably Malay" as this is one of the specialties provided. ERGONOMICS Ergonomics is the science of conforming the workplace and all of its elements to the worker. It consists of the scientific principles or laws applied in minimizing the physical stress associated with the workplace or work. Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability. As for our interview with Tanjong Jara Resort’s Human Resource Executive, Mr. Afizan Ariffin the resort does apply the Occupational Safety and Health Act as to reduce injuries and accident in the workplace. In the hospitality industry such as Tanjong Jara Resort, ergonomic is not only focus in the office which is the management team but also concern on the housekeeping team and also for kitchen staff. There are two types of ergonomics which are physical ergonomics and cognitive ergonomics. The housekeepers at Tanjong Jara Resort were related with the physical ergonomics which are mostly about the manual tasks. It is concerned with how the human body functions during physical exertions and how the physical dimensions of the body affect the capabilities of the workers. ERGONOMICS IN HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT OF TANJONG JARA RESORT According to Mr Afizan, housekeepers are prone to repetitive stress injuries from such continual work as changing sheets, washing bathroom floors and vacuuming. To prevent such injuries, job rotation is being applied to reduce the ergonomic injuries. The job rotation includes different shifts and switching jobs with other housekeepers. The responsibilities of housekeeping department include maintaining all the guestrooms and bathrooms on a high standard of cleanliness. Other than that, they also need to report any damages and repairs to be done and making sure repairs are made as promptly as possible. The housekeepers also need to be alert to safety hazards and eliminating conditions, which could cause injury to guests. The housekeeping department was responsible for cleaning most area in the resort including corridors, lobby, pool, management offices, storage areas, laundry room, banquet rooms, gym and also the sea site. Housekeepers at Tanjong Jara were given training and observations before they fully operate the job on their own. Other than new workers, the existing workers who are facing difficulties in performing their jobs were also given the training. During the training, the appropriate techniques to change bed sheets, washing bathroom floors and vacuuming were shown to them and they will also given the chance to practice it until they were capable of performing the tasks with the right techniques. The housekeepers were given a list of rooms that need to be cleaned before they start their jobs. Normally, the room lists were those which have been checked out the day before that and also rooms which were occupied by guests. At Tanjong Jara Resort, normally 1 housekeeper will be assigned for nearly 10 rooms. Each housekeeper who was assigned will be using a housekeeping cart which also needs to be use ergonomically. The cart contains all the amenities that need to be provided in the guestrooms including the bed sheets, towels, shower creams, shampoo and many more. There are some ergonomic tips given by the housekeepers in order to prevent any injury and muscle pain during performing the jobs. * Push rather than pull carts. * When pushing a cart place your hands just below shoulder level on the cart handle. * Ensure carts are maintained properly - Tires should be fully inflated and the wheel should not be bent or misaligned. This will decrease the amount of force required to push the cart. * Report any faulty cart to the supervisor. * Vary your techniques to use different muscle. * Pad your knees and change your position often when kneeling. * Wear shoes with enough cushioning to relieve the stress on your knees and back when you are on your feet for too long. The same muscles are used over and over again in repetitive work. Repeated forceful movements especially in awkward postures can increase the risk of injury. In order to reduce the risks of injury vary the techniques to use different muscles such as alternating between left and right hands. Take “micro pause” which is letting the muscles rest by pausing for 5 to 10 seconds then return to upright posture and let the arms hang loosely by the side. JOB ROTATION Job rotates workers through various jobs on rotation basis or periodic schedule, provide opportunity to workers on new tasks, functions, thereby increase knowledge, upgrade skills, and increase motivation on jobs. Among the advantages of job rotation are to reduce boredom, reduce monotony, increase motivation, increase efficiency and productivity. However there are also disadvantage of job rotation which are do not have the employees that have specialized skills and also may result in improper scheduling. JOB ROTATION AT TANJONG JARA RESORT Apart from rotate jobs among the employees inside the resort, the resort also implement other way to increase their productivity in service which they sent their employees to work at other properties during the wet season. The reason of the implementation is to avoid any boredom to employees because there will be less guests staying at the resort during the season. Wet season is when the resort will be having raining season throughout the whole months. Normally the wet season is during the month of November and December. Other than to avoid boredoms, it also can be a way to increase their skills and knowledge. Numerous experiences can also be gain from the property that they are working. Different property will offer different experience to the workers. However, the salaries of the workers will be paid from the property that they are working with and the resort need not to pay them during the wet season. SAFETY HAZARD AT TANJONG JARA RESORT The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was the one who will assist the employers at the resort concerning the development of programs on safety and practices. The main emphasis of the system is on: * Classifying work activities * Identifying hazards, determining risks * Preparing risk-control action plans * Reviewing the adequacy of action plans The safety standards in housekeeping department of Tanjong Jara resort includes: * Keeping working areas safe * Maintaining adequate sanitation * Eliminating accident and fire hazards * Providing first aid supplies and equipment * Keeping stairs and rolling stable * Adopting safety factors to operate laundry equipment * Handling hazardous chemicals correctly * Always follow instruction when using any cleaning equipment * Replace caps on cleaning chemicals immediately and securely after dispensing * Label cleaning agents clearly * Keep floors clean and dry * Place warning and safety signs around the area while cleaning * Always dry hands before touching plugs, socket and electrical fittings * Mark faulty equipment as ‘out of orders’ * Dispose of rubbish carefully * Never place cigarette butts or sharp objects in the trash bag on the RA’s carts * Open and shut doors carefully * Clean away broken glass carefully Tanjong Jara Resort also implementing the fire prevention program that could help prevents fires by fire proofing guestroom furnishing. For example the curtains, carpets, pillows and blankets will be labeled as fire-retardant or flameproof as cigarette in bed can cause fire. Other than that, they also provide sand urns or sufficient and appropriate ashtrays in rooms as well as public areas. The resort didn’t use any faulty electrical equipment or sockets and they didn’t store any rags or cloths with residues of cleaning polish still on them. They even unplug any electrical appliances when not in use. The resort also carrying out fire warning systems which include the fire alarm, sprinklers and smoke detectors. The fire alarms were operated by pull stations located in corridors, lobbies and near elevators. The pull alarms themselves are red in color with a glass panel that needs to be broken to set off the alarm. Meanwhile the sprinklers found in corridors or rooms. Situated on the ceiling and automatically spray water when the temperature rises above a certain level. Smoke detector on the other hand also can be found on the ceiling of the corridors or rooms at the resort which will automatically set off the alarm when there are smokes detected by the device. Apart from that, Tanjong Jara Resort also enforcing the fire training programs which include the fire departments. The fire departments will participate in employee training by showing films on fire prevention, lecturing the effects on the smoke and demonstrating the use of fire equipment. All housekeeping employees will also be informed on where is the nearest fire alarm, fire extinguisher and fire exit are located. Employees of the resort are trained not to panic in case of a fire but remain calm in all cases because panic emotion can cause people to feel disoriented and preventing them from acting rationally. The housekeeping department is also responsible for posting in each guestroom diagrams of evacuation routes and instructions explaining what to do in case of fire. CONCLUSION As for our interview with the Tanjong Jara Resort Human Resource Executive, Mr. Afizan Ariffin, it can be concluded that the housekeeping department did implement the ergonomics working environment for their employees. They did carry out training and development program for their employees to improve their skills and knowledge besides to improve their productivity in service. The employees also implement the right techniques in carrying out their tasks in order to avoid any muscle pain or injuries. Tanjong Jara Resort is very concern with the welfare of their employees and provides the safe working environment. The housekeeping department at the resort was filled with responsibilities to be performed apart from cleaning the rooms and ensure the safety of the guests. In order to implement the responsibilities they did carry out the job rotation in contrast with the changing monsoon at Dungun. They not only rotate their work inside the resort but also outside the resort whereby they send their employees to work at other properties during the wet season. Apart from that, they also implement the safety programs in order to avoid any unwanted incidents starts from the safety standard in housekeeping department to fire prevention program. The safety standards in the housekeeping department were implemented in order to ensure the safety of the guests and the employees themselves. The fire prevention program includes the fire warning systems and the fire training programs.