A quantitative method for determining proper job rotation intervals

Job rotation is a useful tool that can be used in many work settings to produce task variety for workers and to reduce worker fatigue and injuries. Developing a job rotation plan requires determining the set of jobs to be included in the rotation, the rotation sequence, and the proper length of the rotation interval. Previous research has considered both the jobs to include in a rotation plan and how to sequence the rotation plan but no work has been conducted to quantitatively examine different rotation interval lengths. Using different rotation interval lengths may result in different stresses for the workers performing a particular set of tasks and therefore affect the quality of the job rotation implementation. This paper proposes a quantitative method based on mathematical programming to obtain a proper job rotation interval length. The merit of the method is determined by examining its effectiveness in reducing worker stress and the potential for injury as well as its applicability for use in real settings.