Assessment of ergonomic risk factors among hand-made shoes workers in Tabriz, northwestern Iran
Ergonomics of hand-made shoes workers
Abstract
Background: The production of hand-made shoes exposes workers to ergonomic stressors that may result in musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of ergonomic risk factors in hand-made shoes workers.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 218 hand-made shoes workers employed in small traditional workshops in Tabriz, northwestern Iran. The Nordic questionnaire was used to record the symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders. Revise strain index (RSI) and the ACGIH hand activity level threshold limit value (HAL-TLV) were applied to assess the risk level using videotaping and direct observation of work cycles. For data analysis, the independent t-test, Spearman correlation, and Kappa statistics were employed.
Results: The most prevalent symptom was observed in the neck of the workers (90.7-98.4%). The mean score of RSI and HAL-TLV exceeded the safe level (RSI>10 and HAL-TLV>0.78) in upper makers and shoemakers but not in the sewing operators. The mean scores of the right hands of upper makers and shoemakers were statistically different and greater than the score of the left hand. The EM and IM were identified as the most contributing multipliers of RSI. The scores of RSI and HAL-TLV were highly correlated and classified workers with good agreement.
Conclusions: According to RSI and HAL-TLV, the biomechanical stress in the hands of upper makers and shoemakers should be reduced. Ergonomic interventions are proposed to decrease the repetitive actions and the intensity of forces during upper making and shoemaking tasks.
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17. Veisi H, Choobineh A, Ghaem H. Musculoskeletal problems in Iranian hand-woven shoe-sole making operation and developing guidelines for workstation design. The international journal of occupational and environmental medicine. 2016;7(2):87.
18. Veisi H, Choobineh A, Ghaem H, et al. Upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms among Iranian hand-woven shoe workers. Work. 2020;67(1):129-139.
19. Dianat I. Musculoskeletal symptoms among handicraft workers engaged in hand sewing tasks. Journal of occupational health. 2016:15-0196-OA.
20. Steven Moore J, Garg A. The strain index: a proposed method to analyze jobs for risk of distal upper extremity disorders. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal. 1995;56(5):443-458.
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25. Garg A, Kapellusch J, Hegmann K, et al. The Strain Index (SI) and Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for Hand Activity Level (HAL): risk of carpal tunnelsyndrome (CTS) in a prospective cohort. Ergonomics. 2012;55(4):396-414.
26. Crawford JO. The Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire. Occupational medicine. 2007;57(4):300-301.
27. Salve U, Jadhav G, editors. Analysis of posture adopted by Female Kolhapuri chappal (footwear) manufacturing workers India. Congress of the International Ergonomics Association; 2018: Springer.
28. Mohammadian Mastan M, Motamedzade M, Faradmal J. Investigating the Correlations of results of three methods OCRA Index, Strain Index, ACGIH HAL to evaluate the risk of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Iranian Journal of Ergonomics. 2013;1(2):63-71.
29. Silva JMNd, Silva LBd, Gontijo LA. Relationship between psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal disorders in footwear industry workers. Production. 2017;27.
30. Nijem K, Kristensen P, Thorud S, et al. Solvent exposures at shoe factories and workshops in Hebron City, West Bank. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2001;7(3):182-188.
31. Maryiantari ES, Martiana T, Sulistyorini L. Analyze the Level of Health Risks from Exposure to Toluene in Shoes Craftsman Workers. American Academic Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences. 2016;16(1):137-154.
32. Tiwari RR. Child labour in footwear industry: Possible occupational health hazards. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2005;9(1):7.
33. Mayan O, Pires A, Neves P, et al. Shoe manufacturing and solvent exposure in northern Portugal. Applied occupational and environmental hygiene. 1999;14(11):785-790.
34. Sealetsa O, Thatcher A. Ergonomics issues among sewing machine operators in the textile manufacturing industry in Botswana. Work. 2011;38(3):279-289.
2. Control CfD, Prevention. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders & ergonomics. 2016.
3. Bhattacharya A. Costs of occupational musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the United States. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 2014;44(3):448-454.
4. Choobineh A, Rajaeefard A, Neghab M. Association between perceived demands and musculoskeletal disorders among hospital nurses of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences: a questionnaire survey. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. 2006;12(4):409-416.
5. Ramadan PA, Ferreira Jr M. Risk factors associated with the reporting of musculoskeletal symptoms in workers at a laboratory of clinical pathology. Annals of occupational hygiene. 2006;50(3):297-303.
6. da Silva JMN, Gontijo LA, Bornia AC, et al. Construction of an osteomuscular discomfort scale for the upper region of the body of footwear industry workers. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 2020;80:103048.
7. da Costa JT, Baptista JS, Vaz M. Incidence and prevalence of upper-limb work related musculoskeletal disorders: A systematic review. Work. 2015;51(4):635-644.
8. Leite WKdS, Silva LBd, Souza ELd, et al. Risk of WMSDs in monofunctional and multifunctional workers in a Brazilian footwear company. Production. 2017;27.
9. Antonucci A. Comparative analysis of three methods of risk assessment for repetitive movements of the upper limbs: OCRA index, ACGIH (TLV), and strain index. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 2019;70:9-21.
10. De Almeida LB, Vieira ER, Zaia JE, et al. Musculoskeletal disorders and stress among footwear industry workers. Work. 2017;56(1):67-73.
11. Jadhav GS, Arunachalam M. Musculoskeletal problems of hand-sewn crafted footwear manufacturing artisans in Kolhapur, India. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2022;95(2):499-508.
12. dos Santos Leite WK, da Silva Araújo AJ, da Silva JMN, et al. Risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders among workers in the footwear industry: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. 2019.
13. Jadhav GS, Arunachalam M, Salve UR. Ergonomics and efficient workplace design for hand-sewn footwear artisans in Kolhapur, India. Work. 2020;66(4):849-860.
14. Dianat I, Salimi A. Working conditions of Iranian hand-sewn shoe workers and associations with musculoskeletal symptoms. Ergonomics. 2014;57(4):602-611.
15. Roquelaure Y, Mariel J, Fanello S, et al. Active epidemiological surveillance of musculoskeletal disorders in a shoe factory. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2002;59(7):452-458.
16. Vieira ER, Serra MVGB, de Almeida LB, et al. Symptoms and risks for musculoskeletal disorders among male and female footwear industry workers. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 2015;48:110-116.
17. Veisi H, Choobineh A, Ghaem H. Musculoskeletal problems in Iranian hand-woven shoe-sole making operation and developing guidelines for workstation design. The international journal of occupational and environmental medicine. 2016;7(2):87.
18. Veisi H, Choobineh A, Ghaem H, et al. Upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms among Iranian hand-woven shoe workers. Work. 2020;67(1):129-139.
19. Dianat I. Musculoskeletal symptoms among handicraft workers engaged in hand sewing tasks. Journal of occupational health. 2016:15-0196-OA.
20. Steven Moore J, Garg A. The strain index: a proposed method to analyze jobs for risk of distal upper extremity disorders. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal. 1995;56(5):443-458.
21. Garg A, Moore JS, Kapellusch JM. The Revised Strain Index: an improved upper extremity exposure assessment model. Ergonomics. 2017;60(7):912-922.
22. Kapellusch JM, Bao SS, Malloy EJ, et al. Validation of the Revised Strain Index for Predicting Risk of Incident Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in a Prospective Cohort. Ergonomics. 2021;64(11):1369-1378.
23. Bao S, Howard N, Spielholz P, et al. Quantifying repetitive hand activity for epidemiological research on musculoskeletal disorders–Part II: comparison of different methods of measuring force level and repetitiveness. Ergonomics. 2006;49(4):381-392.
24. Latko WA, Armstrong TJ, Foulke JA, et al. Development and evaluation of an observational method for assessing repetition in hand tasks. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal. 1997;58(4):278-285.
25. Garg A, Kapellusch J, Hegmann K, et al. The Strain Index (SI) and Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for Hand Activity Level (HAL): risk of carpal tunnelsyndrome (CTS) in a prospective cohort. Ergonomics. 2012;55(4):396-414.
26. Crawford JO. The Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire. Occupational medicine. 2007;57(4):300-301.
27. Salve U, Jadhav G, editors. Analysis of posture adopted by Female Kolhapuri chappal (footwear) manufacturing workers India. Congress of the International Ergonomics Association; 2018: Springer.
28. Mohammadian Mastan M, Motamedzade M, Faradmal J. Investigating the Correlations of results of three methods OCRA Index, Strain Index, ACGIH HAL to evaluate the risk of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Iranian Journal of Ergonomics. 2013;1(2):63-71.
29. Silva JMNd, Silva LBd, Gontijo LA. Relationship between psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal disorders in footwear industry workers. Production. 2017;27.
30. Nijem K, Kristensen P, Thorud S, et al. Solvent exposures at shoe factories and workshops in Hebron City, West Bank. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2001;7(3):182-188.
31. Maryiantari ES, Martiana T, Sulistyorini L. Analyze the Level of Health Risks from Exposure to Toluene in Shoes Craftsman Workers. American Academic Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences. 2016;16(1):137-154.
32. Tiwari RR. Child labour in footwear industry: Possible occupational health hazards. Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2005;9(1):7.
33. Mayan O, Pires A, Neves P, et al. Shoe manufacturing and solvent exposure in northern Portugal. Applied occupational and environmental hygiene. 1999;14(11):785-790.
34. Sealetsa O, Thatcher A. Ergonomics issues among sewing machine operators in the textile manufacturing industry in Botswana. Work. 2011;38(3):279-289.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 14 No 2 (2022) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Published | 2023-11-12 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Ergonomic assessment shoes manufacturing repetitive movement strain index hand activity | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Hajaghazadeh M. Assessment of ergonomic risk factors among hand-made shoes workers in Tabriz, northwestern Iran. Int J Occup Hyg. 2023;14(2):122-129.
