An Ergonomic Evaluation for Designing Workstation for Fish Vendors

Abstract

Fish and seafood has a significant impact on local culture and economy. The main activities of fish vendors like carrying, weighing, washing, scaling, and cutting are manual in nature including high physical workload. Previous studies revealed that 50% of fish vendors suffered from Musculoskeletal Disorders, 35% from fish handler’s disease and 60% from skin diseases. Therefore, the implementation of ergonomic principles in the workstation of fish vendors is an important part of comprehensive health and safety processes as well as to improve worker’s productivity. The present study is focused on analyzing the existing workstation of the fish vendors and to minimize work related disorders. The study also proposes a concept design of the workstation to improve worker’s productivity. The data was collected in Gariahat Fish Market, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Modified Nordic Questionnaire, RULA analysis and Quick Exposure Checklist (QEC) were used to evaluate ergonomic risk factors associated with the level of exposure to Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs). Result shows that 59.37% experienced pain in hand and wrist, 37.5% experienced pain in lower back, 31.25% experienced pain in their neck, 100% had cuts, 90.6% vendors confirmed that their skin was directly exposed to ice and most of the body parts are in high exposure level to MSD. The proposed design of the workstation would not only incorporate most of the work related problems but also make their work more efficient and productive.