Ergonomic Task Analysis for Prioritization of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Mango-Harvesting Farmers

Abstract

This paper proposes a mixed ergonomic tool analysis algorithm to prioritize work-related musculoskeletal problems. This study is a cross-sectional study assessing the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) with associated risk factors among 14 male mango-harvesting farmers (all right-handed) with the mean age of 52.28 ± 7.75 years. Four tasks following mango-harvesting processes were analyzed: (1) mango harvesting, (2) mango transporting, (3) mango size sorting, and (4) mango weighing and transporting to the truck. The perceived physical exertion while working on a mango-harvesting farm was based on the Borg CR-10 with a modified Standardized Nordic Questionnaire. Physical risk level due to awkward posture was evaluated by the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), and risk due to whole-body posture in association with the level of WMSDs risk was evaluated by the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) score sheets. The subjective feelings of fatigue and posture analysis were normalized and combined using the theorem of power superposition to establish the fatigue effective index (FEI) for determining priorities to solve ergonomics-based task problems. This study indicated clearly that WMSDs are highly prevalent in mango-harvesting farmers, whereas the highest prevalence of WMSDs was reported in the right shoulder, right upper arm and lower back. The result provided the FEI of mango-harvesting farmers, ranked as follows: (1) size-sorting task, (2) weight-lifting task, (3) harvesting task, and (4) transporting task. The authors concluded that mango size sorting should be the first task to be improved to resolve the muscle fatigue problems among male mango-harvesting farmers.