. . 2556 16-18 2556
Ergonomics Assessment and Improvement for
Lifting Tasks in Thai Industries
1* 1 2 1
10800 2
10520 E-mail: [email protected]*
Waiyawit Waiyakarn1* Nantakrit Yodpijit1 Sunpasit Limnararat2
1Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok 10800,
Thailand 3Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering
King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang E-mail:
[email protected]*
3
(1)
(2) 3
6 7 8 9
NIOSH 1991 ( )
. . 2556 16-18 2556
Abstract
The act of manually lifting an object is one of the major
concerns in the effective use of a workforce and in the prevention
of back injury in Industry. Work-related musculoskeletal complains
among workers
were found in this study at three factories: an automotive parts
manufacturer, a paper box manufacturer, and a canned seafood
manufacturer. The purposes of this study were (1) to investigate
risks of injury
relating body postures and external loads of manual lifting
tasks, and (2) to improve lifting tasks for preventing
occupationally related back injuries due to lifting. Three methods
of physical ergonomics
assessment (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment: RULA, Rapid Entire Body
Assessment: REBA, and Static
Biomechanical Model) were used to identify the level of
intervention needed for the workers. Results revealed that RULA
scores ranged from 6 to 7, and REBA scores ranged from 8 to 9.
These scores
indicated that workers performed repetitive movements and static
muscle contractions, and lifting postures were not within suitable
ranges of motion. Therefore, there was a need for immediate
improvement to reduce the levels of exposure to risk factors in
manual lifting. The estimated compressive force and moment at the
lower back based upon biomechanical model were below the 1991
NIOSH
criterion level. This implied that the demand of lifting tasks
(external forces and moments) was within the
range of strength capabilities of workers.
Keywords: Lifting, Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), Rapid Entire
Body Assessment (REBA), Static
Biomechanical Model, Improvement
1.
2554
1 3
35,709 (14.01%)
91,699 (43.88%) 34,518 (16.0%)
666 3 137
3 527
129,632 ( , 2554)
57.57%
33.45%
2554