Whole body vibration exposures in forklift operators: comparison of a mechanical and air suspension seat

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blood RP ; Johnson PW ; Ploger JD
• Description:
  Using a repeated measures design, this study compared differences in whole body vibration (WBV) exposures when 12 forklift operators drove the same forklift with a mechanical suspension and an air suspension seat. A portable PDA-based WBV data acquisition system collected and analysed time-weighted and raw WBV data per ISO 2631-1 and 2631-5 WBV measurement standards. Tri-axial measurements of weighted vibration (Aw), crest factor, vibration dose values, time-weighted average-peak, raw (+) peak, raw (+) peak and static compression dose (Sed) were compared between seats. There were significant differences in z-axis WBV exposures with the air suspension seat, yielding lower WBV exposures. In addition, there were differences between seats in how they attenuated WBV exposures based on the driver's weight. In the mechanical suspension seat, WBV exposures were weight-dependent, with lighter drivers having higher WBV exposures, whereas with the air suspension seat, the same trends were not as prevalent. Statement of Relevance: This study contributes to the understanding of how different seat suspensions can influence WBV transmission and how some components of vibration transmission are dependent on the weight of the driver. Additional systematic studies are needed to quantify how various factors can influence WBV exposures. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Automobiles
  • Body Weight
  • Ergonomics
  • Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities
  • Musculoskeletal Diseases
  • Musculoskeletal System
  • Occupational Health
  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Factors
  • Safety
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Vibration
  • Vibration-exposure
  • Body-mechanics
  • Exposure-levels
  • Risk-factors
  • Motor-vehicles
  • Machine-operation
  • Machine-operators
  • Equipment-operators
  • Equipment-design
  More +
• ISSN:
  0014-0139
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  53
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046863
• Citation:
  Ergonomics 2010 Nov; 53(11):1385-1394
• Contact Point Address:
  P.W. Johnson, University of Washington, School of Public Health & Community Medicine, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98105-6099
• Email:
  petej@u.washington.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19940701
• Source Full Name:
  Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20060630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202142/cdc_202142_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 811.37 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1e1511c2ff66bf28126c7789f658bd90a41b4d05a5f9aa1e7414fcad3f64fb52704d1b990f47120ee224773472c31c95e31e99cd3446ee42b6774360a2e57140