Ergonomic study of a vertical rope-pulling task from a scaffolding

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore and assess manual material handling problems involving a vertical rope-pulling task from a scaffold (VRPS). Twenty-five young male Chinese subjects were recruited to participate in this study. The psychophysical method was used to investigate the effects of the rope material (nylon and hemp), rope diameter (6/8'' and 4/8''), object size (bucket diameter 28 cm and 36 cm), operating with and without gloves on the maximum acceptable rope-pulling weight (MAWR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate, respectively. The results showed that the maximum acceptable rope-pulling weights were significantly affected by the rope material, rope diameter, object size and wearing or not wearing gloves. The MAWR for the hemp rope, coarse rope, small object size and without gloves was significantly greater than that for the nylon rope, fine rope, large object size and with gloves, respectively. However, the effect of the rope material, rope diameter, object size and with and without gloves on heart rate was not significant. The mean RPE response was significantly influenced by the rope material, object size and wearing or not wearing gloves. The most stressed body parts were the arms, fingers and wrists. The interaction effect between the rope material and wearing or not wearing gloves was significant. Generally, the VRPS for workers using hemp rope without gloves or using nylon rope without gloves was better than that for the other combinations.

Friction coefficients in a longitudinal direction between the finger pad and selected materials for different normal forces and curvatures

“…High friction materials allow wheelchair users to push the wheelchair wheels with less muscle effort (Richter et al, 2006;Seo et al, 2008a) and consumers to open bottles and containers more easily (Imrhan and Farahmand, 1999;Nagashima and Konz, 1986;Seo et al, 2007;Seo et al, 2008b). High friction materials also allow workers to use screwdrivers or other hand tools with less force (Frederick and Armstrong, 1995;Laroche et al, 2007) and to have greater rope-pulling capabilities (Wu et al, 2008). Low friction handles cause slippage of the hand which leads to injury (Malker, 1991;Rubin et al, 2007).…”

Research methodologies for assessing the ergonomics of packaging products - A review

“…In addition to subjective and objective methods of product evaluation and tasks, usability methods are widely used to study user performance while using a product. Various metrics such as safety, reliability, ease of use (Woods and Buckle, 2005;Wu et al, 2008;Vanderwal et al, 2011), task efficiency, precision, stability, duration (Lee and Chen, 2008;Wu et al, 2009;Jung and Hallbeck, 2005;Chang et al, 2007), etc. researchers have used it in the past to assess the usability of different types of products.…”

The effect of operating height and holding mode on holding capacity for female subjects

“…These workers usually work in a restricted space and must raise their arms above the shoulders, against the wall, or overhead to the ceiling, in a kneeling, squatting, sitting, or standing posture, for a prolonged period of time. These awkward postures often require high muscular forces and endurance and are apt to lead to neck and upper limb MSDs [11,13,15,22,33].…”

“…The prevalence and cost of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to the faulty performance of MMH tasks remain significantly high in developed, developing, and underdeveloped countries [5,6,14,18,27,33,34]. In order to find solutions to these disorders, extensive research has been conducted and many guidelines have been proposed [19,24,25,28].…”