Ergonomic risk assessment of assembly workers of Indian automobile industry by using postural analysis tool

Abstract

Work related musculoskeletal disorders have become a major risk in automobile industry due to lack of ergonomically designed work stations and the wrong work postures occupied by the workers. This paper presents a study on various working postures occupied in two wheeler automobile industry of State Infrastructure & Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited, Pantnagar. The automobile industrial sector have major role in Indian economy and it is the place where work posture analysis is mostly neglected. The study was conducted on 111 workers engaged in various process of assembling of bikes. Posture analysis tool Rapid Upper Limb Assessment was used. The different activities of the workers were recorded by video and still photography, and these images were used for analysis. The final scores of Rapid Upper Limb Assessment during various working activities were found to be high. The findings revealed that there are ergonomic deficiencies in the planning and work methods. A significant proportion of the workers are working in high risk postures. Thus the workers are under moderate to high risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The study recommended a proper implementation of ergonomics interventions program with awareness and training among workers to reduce the risks of WMSD.