Job Rotation
Job Rotation
System
Report to XYZ Co.
Prepared by Dan MacLeod
and Eric Kennedy
1993
Introduction
There are many reasons for implementing a job rotation system including the potential
for increased product quality, employee satisfaction and lower cumulative trauma
disorder rates. However, the difficulties of changing the organizational structure of an
entire facility can prove difficult. It is important that the program start slowly at first so
that the program can be further refined before being implemented elsewhere. This report
contains recommendations for making job rotation as beneficial and as straight forward
as possible. Contained within this document are:
Background Information
• Pros and Cons of Job Rotation
• Practical Implications of Job Rotation
• OSHA Guidelines
The Program
• Program Goals
• Steps of the Program
Detailed Guidance
• Who Decides Job Rotations
• How are Jobs Matched for Rotation
• How Often are Jobs Rotated
• Implementation
The background information is based on a review of the current knowledge base related
to job rotation. The detailed guidance is based on both that review and the experience of
the authors. This guidance should be viewed as a starting point for further discussion by
plant personnel.
Establishing a rotation system which properly determines job rotations and monitors their
safe use is not a simple task. There are many issues to consider and no official protocol or
methodology to call upon. The successful implementation of such a program requires
Page 1 teamwork from all parts of the organization including: management, union, nurses,
ergonomics monitors, and especially line employees.
Background Information
Pros and Cons of Job Rotation
A number of studies address the positive impact of variation and pauses during work, but
few studies have dealt with actual job rotation 1. However, several job
System
Report to XYZ Co.
Prepared by Dan MacLeod
and Eric Kennedy
1993
Introduction
There are many reasons for implementing a job rotation system including the potential
for increased product quality, employee satisfaction and lower cumulative trauma
disorder rates. However, the difficulties of changing the organizational structure of an
entire facility can prove difficult. It is important that the program start slowly at first so
that the program can be further refined before being implemented elsewhere. This report
contains recommendations for making job rotation as beneficial and as straight forward
as possible. Contained within this document are:
Background Information
• Pros and Cons of Job Rotation
• Practical Implications of Job Rotation
• OSHA Guidelines
The Program
• Program Goals
• Steps of the Program
Detailed Guidance
• Who Decides Job Rotations
• How are Jobs Matched for Rotation
• How Often are Jobs Rotated
• Implementation
The background information is based on a review of the current knowledge base related
to job rotation. The detailed guidance is based on both that review and the experience of
the authors. This guidance should be viewed as a starting point for further discussion by
plant personnel.
Establishing a rotation system which properly determines job rotations and monitors their
safe use is not a simple task. There are many issues to consider and no official protocol or
methodology to call upon. The successful implementation of such a program requires
Page 1 teamwork from all parts of the organization including: management, union, nurses,
ergonomics monitors, and especially line employees.
Background Information
Pros and Cons of Job Rotation
A number of studies address the positive impact of variation and pauses during work, but
few studies have dealt with actual job rotation 1. However, several job
References: 1 Sven-Åke Axelsson and Bengt PontÈn, New Ergonomic Problems in Mechanized Logging Operations, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 5 (1990) pp Anticipation of Sudden Loading of the Torso, Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 34th Annual Meeting (1990), pp 3 Bengt Jonsson, MD, Electromyographic Studies of Job Rotation, Scand J Work Environ Health 14 (1988): suppll 1, pp 4 Putz-Anderson, V., 1988, Cumulative Trauma Disorders - A Manual for Musculoskeletal Diseases of the Upper Limbs, (London: Taylor & Francis), p 6 Chris J. Henderson, Ergonomic Job Rotation in Poultry Processing, Advances in Industrial Ergonomics and Safety IV (1992), pp