Alyssa Jean Atienza Portus

• MS Industrial Engineering
• Instructor at University of the Philippines System

The kalesa (horse-drawn carriage), one of the earliest modes of transportation in the Philippines, has since become a Filipino cultural heritage and tourist attraction in some parts of the country. Kalesa drivers (kutseros) may be subject to pain at work as they are exposed to awkward postures and long work hours. This research serves as a prelimin...

This study aims to provide an ergonomic assessment of a church to validate the concerns from its churchgoers regarding its overall conditions, and to provide recommendations to address such concerns. The researchers looked into five factors– illumination level, temperature level, noise level, pew dimensions, and kneeler dimensions – that may affect...

In most grocery stores in the Philippines, the checkout counter cashiers are standing throughout their shift. They are also subjected to repetitive tasks and awkward postures. This study aims to investigate the working conditions of the cashiers in one of the groceries in the country. In particular, the perceived pain of each worker was determined...

SM Cinemas is one of the largest cinema chains in the country. SM has applied an online ticketing system in which users could reserve and buy tickets on their website. This study focuses on the usability of the SM Cinema website. Nine respondents were chosen to participate in the usability testing. Results show that the users were satisfied with th...

Nowadays, banner ads have been widely used to advertise various products and services as it generates huge revenues for website owners and became the most popular marketing tool of businesses. However, research shows that these banner ads are often overlooked by users which undermine the main purpose of the advertisement. A previous study determine...

This study examined three locations for mounting a mobile phone inside a vehicle to minimize distraction while driving. The locations considered were the three most preferred locations based on a survey among 76 young adult drivers. Nineteen right-handed drivers aged 19–25 participated in a series of visual, auditory, and tactile distraction tests...

Public Utility Buses (PUBs)—both provincial and city buses—are highly used mode of transportation in the Philippines. However, people are put in risks due to (1) problems in the transportation system such as intense traffic, inefficient system and overcrowded vehicles, and (2) both buses are imported from neighboring Asian countries, which could im...

The Philippines, being a tropical country, is a main producer of several agricultural products. With the increasing trend on the use of the internet in businesses, an online farming investment scheme has been recently introduced in the country. The crowdfunding website allows potential investors to select the crops they wanted to invest on. Upon co...

The Philippines is a developing country and computers have become an essential component in everyday activities. However, prolonged exposure to keyboard typing may result to Repetitive Strain Injury. In this study, a keyboard layout was designed and generated specifically for the Filipino language using Carpalx. Applying its typing effort model, th...

Public utility buses are one of the primary means of transportation in the Philippines. City buses in Metro Manila use placards as bus signage to indicate destination. These city buses do not observe a uniform arrangement of placards displayed across its windshield. Due to a number of placards in buses, heavy visual workload in scanning bus signage...

A number of studies in manufacturing have investigated on the factors that affect worker productivity. Some of these, for example, have shown that flexible working environments cause productivity loss due to the behavioral effects resulting from the flexible design of work. Although studies have mostly focused on manufacturing systems, the problem...

The Philippine Jeepney is one of the most popular, the most accessible and cheapest medium of public transportation in the country. During their driving period, an average of 10hours a day, the Filipino jeepney drivers are exposed to sustained awkward postures. This research aims to evaluate the drivers’ workspace and driving conditions in relation...

Automated payment machine (APM) or Cash-in machine is one of the latest payment technologies in the Philippines which allow customers to place their cash in the machine to pay for their bills. This study focuses on three aspects of APMs – (1) evaluation of the machine dimensions, (2) usability testing of machine interface, and (3) assessment of the...

Drumming is a very physical form of art as it requires the use of all limbs. As a result, drummers are subjected to risk factors such as continuous vibrations and repetitive motions that may lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Non-ergonomic drum kit set-up also adds up to the already existing health risk factors experienced by drummers. In li...

The Philippines has one of the highest birth rate in the world with 24.98 births per 1000 population. For every 1000 of these births, 35 suffer infant mortality. According to the Philippines’ National Statistics Office, infant mortality results from lack of sufficient medical care before and after child delivery. An objective of this study was to e...