Ergonomic hazard identification of workers engaged in brick making factories

Abstract

Abstract:This study was done with the aim to identify the specific ergonomic risk factors in the workplace affecting the both male and female workers while doing raw brick making activities and to analyze the pain/discomfort related to it. Twenty male and twenty female workers from the raw brick making unit were randomly selected and a detailed ergonomic risk factors were analyzed with the help of NIOSH Ergonomic Hazard Identification checklist. The questions were based on the primary job responsibility of the workers. Data revealed that nearly 8 percent males and 10 percent females were in 'usually' category, 25 percent males and 28 percent females in 'sometimes' and approximately 18 percent male and 13 percent females who never performed the task were kept in the category 'never'. It was found that all the male and female workers usually require exerting force with their hands and used the hand tools to do the task. About 8 percent males and 5 percent females were usually, 15 percent male and only 10 percent female were sometimes and 28 percent males and 35 percent female were never stood continuously for a period of more than 30 minutes. On the whole all the male and female respondents were lifting or lowering the objects between floor and waist height or shoulder height and most of the workers were becoming exposed to the vibration while performing the task and they were carrying the weight more than 50 lb. The study indicates that the majority of the activities are in the high risk category and demands immediate ergonomic intervention in the form of tool, workstation and process design.

Musculoskeletal Symptoms among the Brick Kiln Workers of Kathmandu Valley

“…Because all workers either carried a heavy load or remain in awkward posture for long duration and repeat the same task again and again, as a result they had a high prevalence of shoulder, neck and back discomforts. 20,21,22 Similar to our study, in a previous study conducted in India it was found that among the body parts of brick kilns workers, lower back, shoulder and neck was the most aff ected among all groups (brick carriers, brick molders, brick fi re masters and brick stackers) of brick kiln workers. 23 Postural discomfort in brick kilns have high risk of body discomfort, because they do hard work like lifting heavy loads, risk of shock and they use hard material and reported high pain in legs and thighs because they make brick in sitting positions.…”

“…12 Ergonomics disorders happened because of presence of various ergonomic hazards like improper designing of tools, workplace, manual material handling, lifting and lowering the load. 22 All musculoskeletal problems were signifi cant higher among the exposed population compared to the control group. To reduce these problem, proper education must be given to the target population.…”

A cross sectional study to determine the health profile of brick kiln workers

“…[1][2][3] Also inappropriate working postures involved in brick making with repetitiveness of the movements at the upper limbs, insufficient recovery time makes them prone to work related musculoskeletal disorders. [4][5][6] The fumes also tend to cause irritation of skin and eyes in these workers. 7 The process of brick making involves heavy physical work in hot, humid environment, which can put the workers through considerable heat stress disorders ranging from minor discomforts (like heat rash, heat cramps) to the major life threatening conditions (like heat exhaustion, heat stroke).…”

Computer-Assisted Ergonomic Analysis of Working Postures Causing Strain

“…Besides occupational accidents and occupational diseases, undesired results of ergonomic problems also reduce the quality of life of workers even after an active working life and cause chronic health problems limiting their daily activities (Engür and Chaush-Ogly, 2019). Pandey and Aditi (2013) concluded that special training, which might minimize the ergonomic risk factors in a workplace, would improve the health conditions and increase the productivity of workers. For this reason, periodical training programs should be organized in order to prevent musculoskeletal system disorders among workers and emphasize the importance of resting and pauses during working hours (Dsingh and Kaur 2019).…”