Abhijeet Agashe
V. S. Deshpande
J.P. Modak
Abstract
The present study aims at ergonomic evaluation of the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among wheat grinding machine operators in India. Wheat grinding is an unorganized sector in India. Working postures were analyzed by means of the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) tool. The analysis was performed for three working postures that were found to be potentially harmful. The three postures were lifting the load of 22 pounds from 30 cms above floor height, loading the Hopper at 155cms above ground level and adjusting the break that is 52 cms from ground level. The analyses of working postures revealed that of the three, the working posture during lifting of load from 30 cms from ground level is the most unsafe and ranked 10 under REBA action level and hence in high risk zone. The working posture during loading the hopper ranks next with a REBA action level of 8 which again is in high risk zone. The third working posture under analysis, i.e. working posture during break adjustment, with a REBA score of 2, lies in the low risk zone. the first and the second working postures need immediate investigation and changes in posture need to be implemented do as to reduce WMSDs. Training for safe lifting of wheat, proper loading of hopper and break adjustment through modifications of some working procedures and the use of ergonomically designed equipment may certainly reduce the work-related musculoskeletal disorders and improve the health status ofwheat grinding machine operators in India.
Keywords- Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), Wheat Grinding, REBA