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The purpose of this paper is to test the user acceptability (Phase 1) and effects (Phase 2) of completing sedentary work while using a seated active workstation.

In Phase 1, 45 sedentary employees completed an acceptability questionnaire immediately after performing sedentary work tasks (typing, mousing) while using the seated active workstation for 30 minutes. In Phase 2, the paper tested the differential effects of completing sedentary work tasks at two different workstations (sedentary workstation vs seated active workstation) on physiological (energy expenditure, muscle activity, heart rate, blood pressure), cognitive (learning, memory, attention) and work performance (typing and mousing ability) outcomes among 18 sedentary employees.

In Phase 1, 96 percent of participants reported they would use the seated active workstation “daily” if provided access in their office. In Phase 2, working while using the seated active workstation increased energy expenditure (p<0.001; d=3.49), heart rate (p<0.001; d=1.26), systolic blood pressure (p=0.02; d=0.79), and muscle activation of the biceps femoris (p<0.001; d=1.36) and vastus lateralis (p<0.001; d=1.88) over the sedentary workstation. No between-group differences were observed for any measures of cognitive function. Mouse point and click time was slower while using the seated active workstation (p=0.02).

These findings suggest this seated active workstation to be acceptable by users and effective for offsetting occupational sedentary time without compromising cognitive function and/or work performance.

The present study is the first to test the potential of this seated active workstation in any capacity.

The University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Libraries has set aside space and stocked it with treadmill desks, standing desks, cycling desks and balance chairs to encourage physical activity while using library space to promote active learning. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of this innovative space on library users through a study conducted by a research team using observations and short surveys to gather information about usage trends and user perceptions of this “active learning space.”

This study used both ethnographish observation and self-selected survey. Researcher observation notes were used to gather usage rates of the space and equipment in the space, and survey responses were coded for themes to identify user perceptions around the space.

The findings strongly suggest that users find mental and physical health value in the “active learning space” and many would find value in the expansion and improvement of the space.

The limitations of this study include a shorter observation period compared to the survey collection period and limited demographic collection to shorten the survey instrument.

However, this study was able to assess how an active learning space in an academic library can influence and have a significant impact on student success.

The purpose of this paper is to present a mixed integer programming model for simple assembly line balancing problems (SALBP) with Type 1 when the annual demand and task durations are uncertain and encoded with grey numbers.

Grey theory and grey numbers are used for illustrating the uncertainty of parameters in an SALBP, where the objective is to minimize the total number of workstations. The paper proposes a 0-1 mathematical model for SALBP of Type 1 with grey demand and grey task durations.

The uncertainty of the demand and task durations are encoded with grey numbers and a well-known 0-1 mathematical model for SALBP of Type 1 is modified to find the minimum number of workstations in order to meet both the lower and upper bounds of the uncertain demand. The results obtained from the proposed mathematical model show a task-workstation assignment that does not distribute precedence relations among tasks and workstations and the sum of task durations in each single workstation is less than or equal to the grey cycle time.

The grey theory and grey numbers have not been previously used to identify uncertainties in assembly line balancing problems. Therefore, this study provides an important contribution to the literature.

This paper aims to review and discuss four aspects of mixed-model assembly line balancing (MMALB) problem mainly on the optimization angle. MMALB is a non-deterministic polynomial-time hard problem which requires an effective algorithm for solution. This problem has attracted a number of research fields: manufacturing, mathematics and computer science.

This paper review 59 published research works on MMALB from indexed journal. The review includes MMALB problem varieties, optimization algorithm, objective function and constraints in the problem.

Based on research trend, this topic is still growing with the highest publication number observed in 2016 and 2017. The review indicated that the future research direction should focus on human factors and sustainable issues in the problem modeling. As the assembly cost becomes crucial, resource utilization in the assembly line should also be considered. Apart from that, the growth of new optimization algorithms is predicted to influence the MMALB optimization, which currently relies on well-established algorithms.

The originality of this paper is on the research trend in MMALB. It provides the future direction for the researchers in this field.

An analysis of the US border manufacturing industry revealed that, while a plentiful supply of inexpensive labor is available, there are high levels of absenteeism and turnover. This in turn has affected this industry’s ability to implement lean and agile manufacturing production environments. It was argued that lower inventory levels and quicker response time to market fluctuations are required for these manufacturers to stay competitive. Yet, without careful consideration of the idiosyncrasies of the infrastructure, the change to leaner and more agile manufacturing could destroy some of these plants. The high levels of absenteeism and turnover, which have a direct bearing on the low and variable product yield rates, could cause an agile and lean production system to fail. Yet this research has shown that a recursive, pull‐type production control system that will meet the required daily quota and minimize inventory while accounting for high levels of absenteeism and turnover that directly affect workstation yield rates would be advantageous. That is, a US border manufacturer can become leaner and more agile in spite of the drawbacks that are germane to the US border manufacturing industry.

Sedentary behavior is linked to health risks, and prolonged sitting is prevalent among office workers. Adjustable workstations (AWS) promote health by allowing transitions between sitting and standing. Stand Up to Work compares workers with AWS to traditional desks (TD). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Employees were randomly selected from one office floor to receive AWS, two identical floors maintained TD. Participants received workplace wellness and ergonomic training, completed self-administered questionnaires, and responded to repeated micropolling at baseline (T0), 3 (T1), 6 (T2), and 12 (T3) months in Atlanta, 2015-2016. Groups were compared using two-sample t-tests and nonparametric Wilcoxon tests.

Compared to TD (n = 24), participants with AWS (n = 24) reported significantly less sedentary behavior at T1 and T2 after AWS installation (p<0.05), with a retention rate at T2 of 80 and 65 percent for the AWS and TD group, respectively. In all, 47 percent of participants with AWS reported decline in upper back, shoulder, and neck discomfort (p=0.04); 88 percent of AWS participants reported convenience to use, 65 percent reported increased productivity, and 65 percent reported positive impact outside the workplace. Individuals with normal or underweight body mass index (BMI) reported a significantly greater decline in percent of time sitting compared to participants with overweight or obese BMI at all three time points.

AWS are beneficial in reducing sedentary behavior in and outside the workplace. Behavioral changes were sustained over time and associated with less self-reported muscle pain, more self-reported energy, and awareness of standing. When considering total worker health, employers should include options for AWS to promote reducing sedentary behavior.

Group Support Systems (GSS) have been used and studied in the support of facilitated ideation sessions for years. The norm for these sessions has been for participants to work individually at GSS workstations. A review of applicable literature suggests that pairing participants at GSS workstations could result in higher quality ideas and participant satisfaction. This paper reports the results of a lab experiment that tested for differences between paired and unpaired facilitated GSS sessions. These results suggest that pairing participants can yield higher quality ideas from facilitated ideation without negative consequences.

From poor indoor environmental quality conditions to musculoskeletal discomfort, the interior design of workspaces has the potential to negatively affect human health. One of the key responses from industry has been the rise of health-related guidelines, certification and rating tools. Despite the rapid adoption of such tools by the Australian high-end corporate real estate, there is a scarcity of empirical evidence arising from such premises. This study aims to compare results from certified premises against other open-plan offices to understand differences arising from occupants’ satisfaction, perceived productivity and health.

A total of 1,121 post-occupancy evaluation (POE) surveys conducted in 9 offices were analyzed. All these premises hold a certification from the Green Building Council of Australia and two achieved a WELL rating. The analysis is performed in three parts: comparing WELL-certified (2 cases) and non-WELL certified (7 cases) offices along with comparison with a benchmark of 9,794 POE surveys from the BOSSA database, comparing activity-based working (ABW) (5 cases) and traditional (4 cases) offices along with comparison with BOSSA database and qualitative study of the similar design features in all 9 offices accompanied with an in-depth analysis of the health-related issues that might have occurred because of poor ergonomic design. For the first two parts, several t-tests are performed.

Highest scores for overall satisfaction, workability, perceived productivity and health were reported on WELL-rated premises. Offices incorporating active design principles outperformed others on workability, satisfaction with work area, collaboration, unwanted interruptions, perceived productivity and health. ABW environments outperformed the traditional offices on spatial comfort, thermal comfort, noise and privacy, personal control, comfort of furnishing, adjustability of the work area and space to collaborate. People using sit–stand workstations reported spending significantly less time seated and female workers were more prone to reporting pain over the past 12 months. The best-performing offices implemented active and biophilic design, prioritized overall ergonomics and different spaces designed to support a variety of work-related activities.

This research conducts a comparison between certified premises against other offices in terms of occupants’ satisfaction, perceived productivity and health. A qualitative analysis is also conducted to investigate personal and physical environmental aspects. The way of working (ABW or traditional), implementation of active design features, self-reported musculoskeletal discomfort and physical activity were also investigated. The study has taken a holistic approach to investigate many health-related physical, environmental and emotional aspects in certified workspaces.

In order to determine whether the factors affecting office worker well-being are location dependent, this exploratory study analyses the relative importance of different “building well-being” factors for prime office workers in two leading but environmentally contrastive real estate markets: London and Hong Kong.

This paper adopts a mixed methods sequential explanatory design (follow-up explanations model), consisting of three phases: an exploratory phase to refine the building well-being factors, a quantitative phase utilising a questionnaire to assess the relative importance of these building well-being factors (N = 281: London = 171; Hong Kong = 110), followed by a final phase of follow-up interviews with respondents to explore the reasons behind the significant differences observed in the quantitative phase (N = 13: London = 7; Hong Kong = 6).

While London and Hong Kong share some highly-ranking factors in common, significant differences in importance are observed for 17 of the 31 identified factors as a result of contrasting physical, economic, and cultural environments.

Despite growing recognition of the importance of the built environment on well-being, to the authors’ knowledge there has been no previous research investigating how building well-being demands may vary systematically across geographies. Understanding these differences has important implications for interpreting building well-being research, effective business operations, real estate investment, building certification scheme design, and governance of the built environment.

With the rapid development of computer technology, new and sophisticated facilities become available every few months. The skill of planning expansion or development lies in choosing the innovations that can be far reaching and support future new technology. Akeroyd (1991), Van Brakel (1991, 1993) and many others have reviewed CDROM networking technology. The expansion presented in this paper describes conversion to a 10baseT network incorporating both mainframe terminals and PCs on the LAN (local area network). It will be seen that the chosen route is cost‐effective and advantageous to academic staff and students. It is also a lot more convenient as far as library staff are concerned.