Physical fatigue and stresses in warehouse operations.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Garg A ; Hagglund G ; Mericle K
• Description:
  The effects of physiological and biomechanical stresses on workers in three grocery warehouses (SIC-5141) were assessed. Sixty three male and six female grocery order selectors participated in the study. They performed their usual duties while oxygen consumption and heart rate were monitored for 12 to 64 minutes. Selected tasks were biomechanically analyzed to determine musculoskeletal stress. Stressful work postures and motions were identified by performing an ergonomic study. Metabolic rates, determined from the oxygen consumption data, ranged from 6.16 to 8.35 kilocalories per minute. Heart rate recovery curves showed that 24 to 86 percent of the male workers and all of the female workers experienced excessive fatigue. Approximately 40 percent of the workers failed to meet the 100 percent performance standard while their average energy expenditure and heart rates were considerably in excess of normal limits. Ergonomic studies showed that the racks were too high or low, requiring the workers to lift heavy and bulky loads to vertical distances that exceeded the reach limit for most subjects. Biomechanical analyses indicated that the risk of musculoskeletal and back injuries was high. The authors recommend that jobs be biomechanically analyzed to estimate potential stresses.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Biokinetics Contract-210-81-6008; Health-protection Industrial-environment Medical-research NIOSH-Contract Occupational-accidents Safety-research Warehousing Work-environment
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Final Contract Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 5 ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-111
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00133786
• Citation:
  NIOSH 1983 Jul; :1-111
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1983
• Performing Organization:
  University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  5141 - Groceries, general line - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9c7388e684908134558337decb1cf205e96b8d358f78bcf7a678486a89ac91fbd96bc33691399ac72f5e5956f5496e4fbfdc3d24a1d62f4f50fd018b260db52f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/179595/cdc_179595_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.30 MB ]