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Foundry workers are exposed to numerous health hazards, which includes respirable dust exposure as a prominent health issue. Apart from metallic dust, respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is generated during the fettling operation, which is very hazardous and a leading cause for silicosis. Evaluation and control of such hazards deserve particular attention in order to reduce the dust exposure level upto the permissible limits. In present study, an attempt was made to propose a low-cost design control intervention utilizing sensor based intelligence (ATmega328P microcontroller and an optical dust-sensor, SHARP GP2Y1010AU0F) for monitoring the dust exposure, followed by virtual ergonomics approach in CATIAV5R20. The proposed device was tested under several operating conditions. The results indicated that the prototype was sensitive to dust, having higher average dust density values under the dust haze weather condition (arithmetic mean (AM): 0.2590 mg/m3, geometric mean (GM): 0.2350 mg/m3) and fettling work-section (AM: 0.2550 mg/m3, GM: 0.2164 mg/m3) respectively, as compared to other conditions. Also, biomechanics analysis yielded the spine compression values lesser than the recommended limits, validating that the proposed fettling booth models could be considered as suggestive engineering control measures in conjunction with the designed prototype, so as to minimize the respirable dust exposure levels.

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In the manufacturing firms, hospitals, banks, schools and research institutes etc., total customer satisfaction with products and services have very much importance and also necessary for their survival. Quality services and reducing wastages of all types are the primary need of every organisation. Quality Circle is (QC) is one of the techniques that can be utilised to solve industrial problems and can reduce the rejection level. In present paper, QC concept is implemented to solve wastage problem by taking a real case study of an automobile industry. The observed data was analysed through various problem solving techniques such as 80/20 rule and fishbone diagram etc. Finally, Why-Why analysis was carried out to identify the root cause of the problem and suggested actions to solve the problem. The following results were obtained: Gradually reduction in materials wastage minimises the rejection and hence reduces the overhead expenses of the firm. Further, QC helps in motivating employees to do their best for the organisation, which not only improves the productivity of the organisation, but also helps in discovering hidden talent and creative skill of the workforce. Finally, QC helps in developing the sense of belongingness towards organisations.