Comparing Upper Arm and Back Postural Exposures Between Apple Harvesting with Ladders and Mobile Platform

Details

• Personal Author:
  Johnson PW ; Thamsuwan O
• Description:
  In the US tree fruit industry, in attempt to improve the efficiency of orchard workers; harvest-assisting mobile platforms have been introduced. However, the effect these mobile platforms have on physical exposures, i.e. non-neutral work postures, has not been evaluated. The purposes of this study were to compare ergonomic risk factors between a new apple harvesting method using mobile platforms and the traditional method using ladders. Twenty-four workers participated in this study and were equally divided into three groups, harvesting apples from ladders (n = 8), mobile platforms (n = 8) and the ground (n = 8). Upper arm and back inclinations were continuously monitored and calculated over the whole work period, excluding breaks. Upper arm posture was characterized in terms of the percent of time when upper arm flexion and abduction exceeded 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 80 and 90 degrees. Back inclination was characterized as the percent time forward bending exceeded 10, 20 and 30 degrees. The results showed that the workers on the mobile platform typically had lower postural exposures than the ground and the ladder workers, respectively. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Ergonomics Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Ladders Posture Upper Extremities
• ISSN:
  1071-1813
• Publisher:
  Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  59
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069164
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 59th Annual Meeting, October 26-30, 2015, Los Angeles, California. Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2015 Sep; 59:1252-1256
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 59th Annual Meeting, October 26-30, 2015, Los Angeles, California
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4bfd197421d81f2456c291b30fb60407a1610f073c00f69146766632ab04cfd37b768eaa9e3da77953cc5e3ef85a9843cddb9b950b8c90b6ecedc863d1473099
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207698/cdc_207698_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 283.32 KB ]