Ergonomic intervention to reduce musculoskeletal disorders among flour factory workers

Work ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 611-618
Author(s):  
Karim Hemati ◽  
Zahra Darbandi ◽  
Elaheh Kabir-Mokamelkhah ◽  
Mohsen Poursadeghiyan ◽  
Mohamad Sadegh Ghasemi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Factory Workers ◽  
Lower Back ◽  
Flour Production ◽  
Production Industry ◽  
Ergonomic Risk Factors ◽  
Ergonomic Intervention ◽  
Ergonomic Risk

BACKGROUND: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the most common occupational health hazards. In the flour production industry, the fast pace of work, high frequency of repetitive movements, manual handling of loads, and awkward postures put a lot of pressure on the worker’s body. OBJECTIVE: Given the high exposure of the workers of the flour production industry to ergonomic risk factors, this study aimed to reduce the rate of musculoskeletal disorders among a group of flour factory workers through ergonomic interventions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This interventional study was performed using the census method on the eligible workers of a flour factory. An ergonomic intervention program was planned and implemented with the goal of reducing musculoskeletal disorders. The effectiveness of the program was evaluated by measuring the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders before and six months after the interventions. RESULTS: Before the intervention, musculoskeletal disorders were most prevalent in the lower back, arms, shoulders, legs, thighs, knees, neck and wrists, respectively. Evaluation of the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders after the intervention showed the positive effect of the ergonomic intervention program on musculoskeletal disorders in the neck, shoulders, lower back, thighs, knees, and legs (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Engineering and management interventions implemented in this study led to a significant reduction in the level of ergonomic risk factors and a reduced rate of musculoskeletal disorders among workers of different units in the flour factory.

scholarly journals INVESTIGATION OF ERGONOMIC RISK FACTORS AMONG MALE WORKERS IN A MEDICAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY IN NORTHERN MALAYSIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (Special1) ◽  
pp. 167-175
Author(s):  
Athirah Yusof ◽  
Nurul Shahida Mohd Shalahim
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Lower Back ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Manufacturing Company ◽  
Ergonomic Risk Factors ◽  
Male Workers ◽  
Ergonomic Risk

The medical manufacturing industry is currently one of the sectors with great potential growth in Malaysia, which offers numerous job opportunities to local and foreign workers. The growing proportion of workers in this industry means that a large number of workers are potentially exposed to ergonomic risk factors at the workplace, which may consequently affect their health. Thus, this study was carried out is to investigate the ergonomic risk factors and the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among male workers in a medical manufacturing company in northern Malaysia. Eight industrial workers (n = 8) were recruited from two Plastic Technology (PT) departments to participate in this study. Observations were made by recording the participants performing two tasks (manual lifting of containers and bags of chemicals) using a video camera at the PT1 and PT3 departments. The participants’ personal information and their job-related characteristics were first collected using a demographic questionnaire. Next, the Cornell Musculoskeletal and Hand Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) was used to evaluate the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among workers while Manual Handling Assessment Charts (MAC) were used to assess the most common risk factors during the lifting operations. The results showed that the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among the male workers at the medical manufacturing company was at the lower back (83.17%), upper back (4.38%), right shoulder (3.49%), and left shoulder (3.49%). Based on the results of the MAC, 100% of the participants were at high risk of injury from postures in the vertical lift zones, torso twisting, and sideways bending. In addition, 87.5 and 62.5% of the participants were at high risk of injury based on their hand distance from the lower back and grip on the load, respectively. The results of this study can serve as a guideline to implement interventional ergonomics programmes at the workplace and improve the musculoskeletal health of workers in the medical manufacturing industry in Malaysia.

scholarly journals Upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders and exposure to Ergonomic risk factors among handicraft workers

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wajeeha Mahmood ◽  
Muhammad Salman Bashir ◽  
Sarah Ehsan ◽  
Muhammad Atif Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Upper Extremity ◽  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
P Value ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Ergonomic Risk Factors ◽  
Ergonomic Risk

Objective: To determine the association of Upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders and Exposure to Ergonomic risk factors among handicraft workers. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in a 12 weeks’ duration i.e. from November 2018 till January 2019. Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was used to determine the frequency of upper limb musculoskeletal disorders. Postural analysis was done using Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA). Data was collected from 100 Handicraft workers and the type of work included Art work (n=18), Ada Work (n=7), botanical arrangement (n=11), Textile, fashion designing and stitching (n=38), Fine arts (n=20), embroidery and knitting (n=6). Results: The frequency distribution of Rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) score for exposure to risk factors showed that 47 participants were at a high risk and required implementation of change. Most of the participants (n=35) reported pain in neck and shoulder (n=29). The chi square test for association between pain in upper extremity and exposure to risk factors showed that only wrist pain had statistically significant association with overall RULA score (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: The study concluded that neck and shoulder are more frequently affected among handicraft workers. The frequency of workers who were at high ergonomic risk and required implementation of change in working conditions was high. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.2.749 How to cite this:Mahmood W, Bashir MS, Ehsan S, Qureshi MA. Upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders and exposure to Ergonomic risk factors among handicraft workers. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(2):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.2.749 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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