Using Multiple Complementary Methods to Develop Ergonomics Audits for Mining Operations

Dempsey, Patrick G.; Porter, William L.; Pollard, Jonisha P.; Drury, Colin G.

doi:10.1177/1071181312561264

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…Results of this study will be used to inform the development of an audit tool for bagging operations in the mining industry as described by Dempsey et al (2012), as well as to make recommendations for design of bag palletizing workstations. In particular, based on our conclusions it is recommended that where possible, companies with manual palletizing operations design their systems so that pallets and workers who are palletizing are positioned at the end of the conveyor belt.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of operator position, pallet orientation, and palletizing condition on low back loads in manual bag palletizing operations

Gallagher

Heberger

2015

International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics

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Many mining commodities are packaged and shipped using bags. Small bags are typically loaded onto pallets for transport and require a significant amount of manual handling by workers. This specific task of manual bag handling has been associated with the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), especially low back disorders. This study evaluates the biomechanical demands of different work layouts when performing manual palletizing of small bags, and evaluates the biomechanical stresses associated with different stacking techniques. Results indicate that peak forward bending moments as well as spinal compression and shear forces are higher when the pallet is situated at the side of the conveyor as opposed to the end of the conveyor. At low levels of the pallet, controlled bag placement results in higher peak forward bending moments than stacking at higher levels and when dropping the bag to lower levels. The results of this study will be used to inform the development of an audit tool for bagging operations in the mining industry. Relevance to industry In many cases for workers loading small bags, compression forces exceed the NIOSH criterion of 3400 N. Orientation of the pallet has a significant impact on spinal compression, and positioning the pallet at the end of the conveyor reduces the estimated compressive loading on the lumbar spine by approximately 800 N.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of operator position, pallet orientation, and palletizing condition on low back loads in manual bag palletizing operations

Gallagher

Heberger

2015

International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics

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“…These issues suggest that recommendations to use "action research" approaches that involve researchers working with organizations and practitioners to understand how to apply scientific knowledge in a specific context (Neumann et al, 2012) are valid. Recent research on developing ergonomics audits for mining (Dempsey et al, 2012) used a variant of this approach and was successful.…”

Section: Perspectives From the Mining Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Research to Practice to Research

Reid

Rempel

Gardner

et al. 2016

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual

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This is the first of two panels to discuss pathways and barriers in moving promising ergonomic concepts from research to practice and in moving important ergonomic problems from practice to research. The panelists are from a variety of industry sectors and academia. The session will start with a 5-minute introductory statement from each panelist; therefore, most of the session will be a discussion between panelists and the audience on the topic. On the research side there is difficulty in conducting good research capable of demonstrating a safety or productivity value for promising ergonomic interventions. Problems include poor access to workplaces to conduct the research, lack of funding, difficulty obtaining a control group, etc. Some practitioners believe that well-designed research is not necessary for industry to make decisions on adoption. On the industry side barriers to adopting promising ergonomic interventions include lack of convincing data, cost, anticipation of reduced productivity, poor usability, poor acknowledgement of a problem, and history/legacy (“we have always done it this way and the process works”). Likewise, practitioners may have difficulty convincing academics to study ergonomic problems that they face daily in the workplace and they may perceive that academics study concepts that have little value for industry. Barriers for academics to take on these important topics may be related to funding, lack of clear design related solutions, limited impact, and research on a topic that is too applied or related to a proprietary idea. The goal is to improve understanding of different perspectives and generate ideas for improving the process of research to practice to research (RtPtR).

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“…As part of a larger project to develop ergonomics audits for maintenance and repair activities (Dempsey et al, 2012), the research team needed to understand tasks performed and potential mechanisms for failure of those tasks to provide the basis for specific audit questions. Traditional surveillance analyses of non-fatal injuries were carried out (Santos et al, 2010; Pollard et al, 2014;) to understand the most frequently reported sources of injuries and to define tasks to be studied either in the field or laboratory in more depth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Fatalities During Maintenance and Repair Operations in the U.S. Mining Sector

Reardon

Heberger

Dempsey

2014

IIE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors

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Background Maintenance and repair work in mining is particularly hazardous and yet has received little focus in ergonomics research. Purpose In this article, an attempt has been made to determine if patterns can be identified to categorize maintenance and repair fatalities in mining, to compare occurrence of fatalities between coal and metal/nonmetal sectors, and to use this information to identify safety deficiencies and associated proposed remedial measures. Methods A classification scheme was developed to identify patterns in fatalities, including proximal causes, tasks, and contributing factors. This scheme was tested to ensure adequacy of the categories, and fatalities were categorized using the scheme. All testing and categorization were done by two of the authors to ensure reliability of the coding scheme. Results Patterns were successfully identified to categorize the fatalities, and these patterns were different between coal and metal/nonmetal mines. Coal mines had a greater proportion of electrical-related fatalities, while more fatalities related to potential energy occurred at metal/nonmetal mines. Most of the fatalities were caused by the victim coming into contact with an object or machine or the victim falling from height, and they occurred most often while the victim was performing maintenance or repair on equipment, cleaning, or removing blockages. The most frequent factors contributing to these incidents were failure to properly de-energize or lock out/tag out equipment, violation of work procedures, missing or inadequate safety equipment, and failure to block equipment properly. Conclusions The classification approach used was successful in identifying hazard patterns during maintenance and repair fatalities in mining. These patterns identify areas to focus attention when developing interventions to prevent the occurrence of future fatalities.

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Using Multiple Complementary Methods to Develop Ergonomics Audits for Mining Operations

Cited by 4 publications

References 8 publications

The effects of operator position, pallet orientation, and palletizing condition on low back loads in manual bag palletizing operations

The effects of operator position, pallet orientation, and palletizing condition on low back loads in manual bag palletizing operations

Research to Practice to Research

Analysis of Fatalities During Maintenance and Repair Operations in the U.S. Mining Sector

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