Motorised two-wheelers are cost effective fuel-efficient system to manage occupational compulsions and time bound responsibilities but on the other hand they account formaximumtrafficaccidentdeaths. Bike riders are exposed to prolonged static posture causing significant angular deviations at all most all joints of the body as well as lumbar angle (L1-L5). All these postural alterations are contributory factors to stress and musculo-skeletal symptoms. Although the vibration remains within the OSHA limit, the vibration map and pain map of a two-wheeler rider’s were observed to have strong correlations. Varied emotional and psycho-social components contribute to cumulative stress among them. Bike riding also involves visual acuity, which alters critical flicker frequency of the riders indicating immense visual stress and subsequent adaptation. Properstressmanagement, ergonomic intervention in engineering revisions of the two wheeler designmay contribute toreducechancesofaccident and ensure safety, wellbeing and performance of the riders.
Purpose: In India, the cost of manpower is very
low; hence Manual Material Handling (MMH) is
the cheapest solution. This study aimed to quantify
the cardiac strain and postural stress of male
building construction workers associated with
MMH tasks.
Materials and methods: Mean (SD) age (years)
and job experience (years) of the workers were
31.0(4.65) and 8.8 (3.23), respectively (n=35).
Working peak heart rate was recorded by polar
heart rate monitor, posture analysis was done by the
Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS)
and the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA)
method, body part discomfort was assessed by the
Nordic questionnaire, and perceived exertion was
evaluated by the Borg scale. Two-tailed unpaired
Student’s t test was performed between peak heart
rate of workers associated with MMH tasks and
upper extremity intensive tasks (n=31).
Results: Results revealed that mean peak heart rate
of the workers was significantly different (higher)
compared with that of the upper extremity intensive
workers (p<0.05). This study showed that most of
the working postures were hazardous. The
magnitude of risk for musculoskeletal disorders
(MSD) was much higher as per REBA compared
with OWAS. Most of the workers suffered from
pain in the head, neck, shoulder, lower back, and
arm region. As per the Borg scale, the rate of
perceived exertion was ‘hard and heavy’ among
most of the workers (68.57%).
Conclusions: Postural stress and cardiac strain
beyond the safe limit indicates the heavy nature of
the job. Load limit optimization, ergonomic lifting
technique, and rescheduled work-rest cycle are
essential to reducing physiological and perceived
work load.
BACKGROUND: Motorbikes are a cost effective and fuel efficient mode of transport but at the same time they account for huge number of Road Traffic Accidents (RTA). Bike riders are exposed to postural, psychosocial stress which may lead to accidents. OBJECTIVES: Objectives of the study are to: (1) quantify postural and psychosocial stress which may be contributory factors to accident and injury; (2) record the magnitude of aggression, sensation level and risky behaviour to employ behaviour based safety (BBS). METHODS: Healthy male motor bike riders (n = 150) were randomly taken to identify consumer purchase behaviour, assess postural stress, perceived pain and exertion. Perception of riders with respect to their safety was recorded. Magnitude of aggression, sensation and risky behaviour were also recorded among bike riders (n = 35). RESULTS: Result showed drivers experienced pain in low back (84%), thigh (82.67%), hand (81.33%), neck (68.67%) and shoulder (63.33%). Riders (62.67%) perceived the exertion as 'hard and heavy', 24.67% as 'very hard' and 12.67% as 'somewhat hard'. Majority of the riders preferred looks and style, neglecting physiological comfort and safety. Magnitude of aggression, sensation and risky behaviour among bike riders were notably high. CONCLUSIONS: Quantification of these stressors is essential to implement engineering revision and behaviour based safety.
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