Assessment of postures and manual handling of loads at Southern Brazilian Foundries

Abstract

Foundry workers are exposed to health risks arising from several factors, especially weight handling, adopted postures, and taken routes. This paper aims to evaluate the postures and cargo handling in foundry areas of industries at the south region of Brazil. Data was collected from a population of 35 workers that volunteered to take part in the research. The techniques used include an organizational questionnaire, interviewing, the Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire, and the REBA and NIOSH methods. It was found that 74.3% of the sample reported symptoms of discomfort and pain in different parts of the body. The lumbar region appeared as the most affected part, as well as wrists, hands and fingers. The REBA method results indicated that 78.9% of analyzed postures are between medium and very high risk levels. Likewise, 100% of shipments surveyed carried risks of injury in the spine and musculoskeletal ligament system.