Maximum Acceptable Work Time for the Upper Limbs Task and Lower Limbs Task

Velásquez, Juan Carlos; Briceño-Ayala, Leonardo; Ortíz, Luisa; Solarte, Sandra; Agredo, Ricado

doi:10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.535

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In addition, motor-manual felling using brush cutters involves a significant use of dynamic work of the upper limbs. According to Velásquez et al (2015), the maximum acceptable working time is even smaller when dynamic work is carried out using the upper limbs. However, compared to traditional forest operations, the results reported herein indicate significantly smaller cardiovascular loads of the motor-manual feller.…”

Section: Heart Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Strain, Exposure to Noise and Postural Assessment in Motor-Manual Felling of Willow Short Rotation Coppice

Borz

Talagai

Cheţa

et al. 2019

Croat. j. for. eng. (Online)

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Biomass for energy production and other bioproducts may be procured from various sources including willow short-rotation coppice (WSRC). Management of WSRCs involves several operations, including harvesting, which accounts for the greatest cost share and, if conducted motor-manually, it can expose the workers to noise, uncomfortable work postures and high cardiovascular loads. In this study, we evaluated the productivity, physical strain, exposure to noise, and postural risk index of workers operating in motor-manual felling of WSRC using a set of automatic dataloggers. Productivity of felling operations was rated at 0.07 ha/h, which is in line with the results reported by other studies. Cardiovascular load was rated at cca. 35% of the HRR, indicating a medium to heavy work experienced by the feller, with a greater contribution of tasks involving movement. Exposure to noise (LEX,8h = 95.19) exceeded the limit value set by the European legislation (87 dBA) and it could increase as a function of the engine utilization rate, which was 68% in this study, advocating for mandatory wearing of protective equipment. Postural risk index was evaluated at 191.11% for the worker handling the brush cutter and at 192.02% for the manual assistant indicating rather reduced risks, but also the need to evaluate how the dynamic work of the upper limbs would affect the workers’ health. While this work stands for a preliminary case study, the procedures described may be successfully used to easily collect long-term data in such operations.

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Section: Heart Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Strain, Exposure to Noise and Postural Assessment in Motor-Manual Felling of Willow Short Rotation Coppice

Borz

Talagai

Cheţa

et al. 2019

Croat. j. for. eng. (Online)

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“…Thus, heart rate reserve (HRR) was utilized to evaluate the workload reflecting different physical conditions of the participants. HRR was calculated using the following equation [16][17][18]:…”

Section: Heart Rate Reserve (Hrr)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Workloads of Package Deliverers Focusing on Their Pickup and Delivery Tasks in Republic of Korea

Rim

Jung

2022

Sustainability

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Package deliverers are facing increasing workloads due to a rapid increase in online shopping caused by the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical workload of package deliverers during pickup and delivery tasks. Heart rate reserve (HRR), metabolic equivalent of task (MET), standardized Nordic questionnaire (SNQ), and visual analogue scale (VAS), measured on site using a wristband, were used as indicators of their workload. Twenty deliverers participated in this study. Work analysis was performed to categorize their tasks into sorting inside a truck, delivering, picking up, driving, and resting. Statistical analysis showed that participants spend 4.3 h per day picking up and delivering 331.9 packages per day. Their work requires about 29.7% of HRR and 4.7 of MET, which are thus considered as of “moderate level” difficulty. SNQ and VAS revealed that their lower back and wrist/hand were the most painful body parts due to repetitive trunk bending and small package handling. The use of a cart would be recommended as it has the advantage of handling many packages at once with less physical effort in deliverers.

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