Assessment of manual material handling in a tile and ceramic factory using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health‎ equation in 2016

Abstract

Received: December 2016, Accepted: January 2017Background: Manual handling, lifting, or carrying of material is responsible for non-fatal injuries among employees in industries. It is the second most prevalent reported risk factor in workplaces that can lead to potential manual handling accidents and longer-term musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The aim of this study was the evaluation of manual material handling using the American National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) equation in a tile and ceramic factory in Tehran, Iran, in 2016. Material and Methods:This cross-sectional study was carried out in a tile and ceramic factory in Tehran, Iran, in 2016. Three tile production lines (A, B, and C) were selected. On each line, cartons were lifted from a conveyor and placed onto a pallet. The task variable data were measured and recorded according to the NIOSH equation. Results: According to the results, composite-lifting index (CLI) value in all three lines exceeded 3 (3.34, 4.53, and 5.99, respectively, for lines C, B, and A). The values of frequency-independent recommended weight limit (FIRWL) and single-task recommended weight limit (STRWL) in all tasks were less than load weight. In addition, values of frequency-independent lifting index (FILI) and single-task lifting index (STLI) in all tasks exceeded 1.0. Conclusions:The results show that CLI value for these jobs exceeded 3, which means that a significant level of physical stress is associated with these jobs for nearly all workers. Both strength and endurance are a problem for many workers. Therefore, the first priorities of job redesign should be the decreasing of the physical demands through modifying the job layout, and decreasing the physiological demands through reducing the frequency rate or duration of continuous lifting.

Effectiveness of health education intervention on posture in ceramic industry workers

“…There are numerous tools like RULA, REBA, manual risk assessment tool (manTRA), liberty manual material handling tables (SNOOK tables) and equation like NIOSH to evaluate work posture at work sites, as noted in literature reviews. 7,17 Nonetheless the research question in this study was to determine the influence of health education intervention on uncomfortable posture by assessing ceramic industry workers The statistical examination of the pre-and post-test of each body component, as well as the postural risk level in the OWAS scale, revealed a significant result using the paired ttest and Wilcoxon test, with p values of 0.001 for both. The current study used the OWAS approach to analyse working posture while handling manual materials, including a 7-day pre-assessment.…”