A woodchuck

Project WOODCHUCK.

The Ergonomic Assessment of an Animal Care Facility

 

Contents
Background
  • Introduction
  • Site Visit

    Data collection
  • Site Inventory
  • Questionnaire
  • Interview

    Observation
  • Environment
  • RULA

    Evaluation

  • Data Analysis I
  • Data Analysis II
  • Suggestions

  • Data Analysis II

    The following links include further discussions of findings from literature review and descriptive analysis of the data. Included on this page are discussions of: Task characteristics and lower back disorders
    According to research findings, there are a number of task factors that influence the onset of injury. For example, one-handed lifting tasks, such as lifting woodchucks and their shelters and scooping feed from barrels, increase the risk that employees will suffer from fatigue and lower back disorders.
    Relationship between duration of employment and frequency of injury:
    There does not appear to be any clear pattern suggesting a cumulative relationship between duration of employment and frequency of injury.
    Relationship between age and frequency of injury:
    Our results support other research findings that injuries increase with age beginning with the 25-35 year age group. Our results also support previous findings that more symptoms in the neck and shoulder regions are reported as manual materials handling workers grow older.
    Seasonal variation in reported injuries:
    Excluding animal bites, there was little effect of seasonal variation on the frequency of injuries.
    Daily patterns of injury:
    According to historical data from injury logs, there appears to be an effect of time of day on the occurrence of injuries at this facility.

    Patterns of injury location over past five years:
    Analysis of injuries through the years indicates that there may be a pattern of increasing lower back and knee injury during the past three years.

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    Data Analysis I
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    Suggestions and Recommendations
    Table of Contents