Citation

Kayis B, Kothiyal K. Int. J. Occup. Safety Ergonomics 1996; 2(3): 251-261.

Affiliation

University of New South Wales, Australia. b.kayis@unsw.edu.au

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10602590

Abstract

Musculoskeletal injuries are often the consequences of wrong postural configurations used during Manual Materials Handling (MMH). This eventually leads to large payout of worker's compensation and loss of production time. A simulated study of back injury risks has been carried out on seven selected manufacturing industries to identify and evaluate harmful working postures. For each MMH task, OWAS (Ovako Working Posture Analysing System) codes have been identified with the help of motion study pictures. Also, Chaffin's biomechanical model was used to calculate L5/S1 load compression values on the spine during MMH activities. The multilevel approach adopted was a combination of OWAS and Chaffin's biomechanical model. The application of a digitiser enabled us to identify the coordinates and it made a subsequent evaluation of the angles of each body link possible.

Language: en