The risk of musculoskeletal disorders for workers due to repetitive movements during tomato
Author(s)
Cecchini, Massimo
Colantoni, Andrea
Massantini, Riccardo
Monarca, Danilo
Date Issued
2010
Type
Article
Abstract
Tomatoes are the most common crop in Italy. The production cycle requires
operations in the field and factory that can cause musculoskeletal disorders due
to the repetitive movements of the upper limbs of the workers employed in the sorting
phase. This research aims to evaluate these risks using the OCRA (occupational repetitive
actions) index method. This method is based firstly on the calculation of a maximum
number of recommended actions, related to the way the operation is performed,
and secondly on a comparison of the number of actions effectively carried out by the
upper limb with the recommended calculated value. The results of the risk evaluation
for workers who manually sort tomatoes during harvest showed a risk for the workers,
with an exposure index greater than 20; the OCRA index defines an index higher than
3.5 as unacceptable. Th e present trend of replacing manual sorting onboard a vehicle
with optical sorters seems to be appropriate to reduce the risk of work-related musculoskeletal
disorders (WMSDs) and is supported from both a financial point of view
and as a quality control measure.
Additional information
L'articolo รจ disponibile sul sito dell'editore http://www.asabe.org/
Citation
Cecchini, M. et al. 2010. The risk of musculoskeletal disorders for workers due to repetitive movements during tomato. "Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health" 16 (2): 87-98
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
JASH 7670 Abstract.pdf
Size
13.87 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
782e04bcbaaf4671f4afbd818ae8e700