Applied forces and sEMG activity contribution to risk assessment for assistance workers helping passengers with restricted mobility

Abstract

As air travel grows the numbers of passengers with varying degrees of motor disability have grown too. The aim of this study is to analyze the task of pushing Passengers with Restricted Mobility (PRM) on three different wheelchairs (WhCh) currently supplied to PRM service of a Rome airport. The WhChs differed in their width, weight and wheels dimension. We investigated initial and sustained forces, according to the Annex D of ISO 11228-2 standard, by means of a digital dynamometer. Surface Electromyography (sEMG), was also recorded bilaterally from Erector Spinae and Anterior Deltoid only in the initial phase. Pushing forces, together with sEMG, may help to have a better understanding of the task requirements and a more detailed risk assessment. The use of both sEMG and applied forces values can be used also to help PRM airport services in choosing the wheelchair that best fit with the passenger to handle and in order to reduce the biomechanical load in PRM assistance workers.