The picking and placing job consist of picking the
hand tools from ground or picking them with a tong
from the hot furnace and placing them under the
power hammer and moving them under the hammer
according to the requirement. The picking and
placing job used only the upper body and the job was
performed by workers while sitting on the bench. The
observations of the posture analysis showed that
while moving the job with the tong the upper arms
were under physical strain. It was found that around
40% of the workers were at medium risk level and
the rest of the workers were at lower or negligible
risk levels. A necessary change was suggested for the
workers. The neck and wrist were more prone to
MSDs in the grinding activities. Around 45% of the
grinders were working at high risk levels and an
immediate change for them was recommended.
Proper sitting arrangement and proper machinery
arrangement was suggested to reduce the risk levels.
In the hammering, broaching, trimming and punching
sections almost all the workers were in acceptable
posture and further investigation was recommended
for them. In some jobs, welding operations were also
required. The posture of the welders while welding
was found to be unacceptable and an immediate
change was suggested.
Overall the study revealed that that major risk for
MSD was existing in the grinding section where the
grinders were working in unacceptable posture. The
reasons for the problem were lack of proper sitting
arrangement for the workers and lack of proper
arrangement of the grinding machines. The level of
the grinding machines was very low from the eye
level of the worker due to which the grinders had to
bend their neck to a high degree of risk for long time
during working hours. It was suggested that proper
sitting arrangement for the workers, proper
arrangement for the machinery to adjust their level
and proper rest periods for the workers could solve
the problems. However, there were also some posture
related problems in the picking and placing jobs in
which the upper arms were under high risk.
Therefore, proper rest periods were recommended to
avoid any MSD in the future. Another section was
that of welding where the workers were working in
unacceptable posture. It was recommended to provide
appropriate jigs and fixtures to hold the jobs, so that
the workers should not bend while welding the job.
Also, all the workers were made aware about the
correct posture while working in different sections of
the forging industry.