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Abstract            Volume:4  Issue-10  Year-2016         Original Research Articles


Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215
Issues : 12 per year
Publisher : Excellent Publishers
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Ergonomic Evaluation of Postural Strain and Musculoskeletal Disorders among Workers associated with Upper Extremity Intensive Jobs at Construction Sites of West Bengal, India
Prasenjit Saha1, Bibaswan Basu1, Koumi Dutta1 and Devashish Sen2*
1Ergonomics, Work Physiology, Occupational Health Management Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India
2Professor and Head, Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata, India, 700073
*Corresponding author
Abstract:

Work related musculoskeletal disorder is a major cause of injury and absenteeism among construction workers. Predominantly upper extremity intensive works are repetitively performed monotask. Hazards associated with monotask are higher than multitask performance. This study aimed to evaluate task specific postural strain associated with painting, stone cutting, manual piling, carpenting, plastering, plumbing which involve awkward static posture and upper extremity intensive activity. Videography of each task was performed and subsequent posture analysis with Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) and Moore and Garg was done using Ergofellow 2.0 Software. Questionnaire was employed to identify the pain map. Borg scale was used to evaluate task specific perceived exertion among workers. Thermal stress was measured by Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index. REBA and Moore and Garg scores were much above safe standards and required immediate implementation. Painters were identified to have highest REBA and Moore and Garg score. Incidence of pain was observed in back, shoulder, upper and lower limb. Painting was perceived to involve heavy exertion while other jobs were categorized to be ‘somewhat hard’. Ergonomic interventions are required to modify tool design, work place orientation. Properly scheduled work rest cycle and job rotation may mitigate the work stress.

Keywords: Construction industry, upper extremity intensive jobs, monotask, postural strain, rapid entire body assessment, strain index, musculoskeletal disorders.
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How to cite this article:

Prasenjit Saha, Bibaswan Basu, Koumi Dutta and Devashish Sen. 2016. Ergonomic Evaluation of Postural Strain and Musculoskeletal Disorders among Workers associated with Upper Extremity Intensive Jobs at Construction Sites of West Bengal, India.Int.J.Curr.Res.Aca.Rev. 4(10): 27-38
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.20546/ijcrar.2016.410.004
Copyright: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.