Avaliação das condições de trabalho e da produção no processamento de vegetais em cozinhas industriais.

Abstract

This study intends to analyze the relationship between productivity and the working conditions of employees in an area of vegetable processing inside and industrial food service operation. It was developed in the form of a case study, and all the methodology used in this study was a descriptive method and the subjects of the study were employees of the specific area. The evaluative tools used for this study of the areas of ergonomics, productivity and layout are as follows: report produced by the firms Human Resources department; direct observations and use of film and photographs of actual activities; interviews, elaboration of the matrix of product vs. process and the fluctuation of the process, including the measurements of the time and distance, and, finally, analyses of the data and recommendations. Twenty-nine employees took part in this study, all them with enough time in the function and the average age varied from 19 to 49 years of age. It was found that the work demanded physical effort, repetitive movements over long periods of time, carrying and lifting of weight, and a standing position that required movement from one place to another during the activity. According to the points of view of employees, a few tasks were considered difficult, and this corresponds to the significant number of excused absences and days missed from work. It was also observed that crisscrossing between tasks occurred, as well as the creation of restrictions, consequently causing problems of flow. These recommendations apply to pertinent issues regarding the organizational conditions, with an aim to its functional improvement, by means of rearrangement of the working sites and reduction of unnecessary movement. These recommendations result in a better organization at the working sites, a bigger production control, meaning the separation according to the process characteristics and, possibly, the quality of the conditions of the tasks completion.