Assessment of cardiac strain amongst underground coal carriers—A case study in India

Dey, Netai Chandra; Samanta, Amalendu; Saha, Ratnadeep

doi:10.1016/j.ergon.2007.01.005

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Fatigue is experienced when the cardiovascular system cannot furnish sufficient oxygen to the muscles (29). Profuse sweating leading to daily severe dehydration can possibly also lead to chronic kidney disease (41, 42).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of occupational heat exposure on female brick workers in West Bengal, India

Sett

Sahu

2014

Global Health Action

106

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BackgroundManual brick-manufacturing units in India engage a large number of female workers on a daily-wage basis for a period of 8 months per year. There are two groups of female workers in the brickfields: the brick molders and the brick carriers. These brickfields are mostly unorganized, and the workers are exposed to extreme conditions such as very high seasonal heat. The present trend of increasing temperatures, as a result of global warming and climate change, will put an additional burden on them.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the effect of workplace heat exposure on the well-being, physiological load, and productivity of female brickfield workers in India.DesignA questionnaire study (n=120), environmental temperature, and weekly work productivity analyses were evaluated for 8 months in the brickfields. Cardiac strain and walking speed (subset, n=40) were also studied and compared in hotter and colder days amongst the female brickfield workers.ResultsThe subjects experience summer for about 5 months with additional heat stress radiating from the brick kiln. The weekly productivity data show a linear decline in productivity with increased maximum air temperature above 34.9°C. The cardiac parameters (peak heart rate (HRp), net cardiac cost (NCC), relative cardiac cost (RCC), and recovery heart rates) were significantly higher on hotter days (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGTout) index: 26.9°C to 30.74°C) than on cooler days (WBGTout index: 16.12°C to 19.37°C) for the brick molders; however, this is not the case for the brick carriers. As the brick carriers adapt to hotter days by decreasing their walking speed, their productivity decreases.ConclusionWe conclude that high heat exposure in brickfields during summer caused physiological strain in both categories of female brickfield workers. A coping strategy employed by the brick carriers was to reduce their walking speed and thus lose part of their earnings. The lost productivity for every degree rise in temperature is about 2% in the brickfields. This reduction will be exacerbated by climate change and may undermine the quality of life of female brickfield workers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of occupational heat exposure on female brick workers in West Bengal, India

Sett

Sahu

2014

Global Health Action

106

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“…Outdoor WBGT suggested that the workers had to work in stressful environmental conditions. Several studies concluded that for the WBGT index, a value of more than 25°C is stressful [34][35][36].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ergonomic evaluation of physiological stress of building construction workers associated with manual material handling tasks

2017

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Purpose: In India, the cost of manpower is very low; hence Manual Material Handling (MMH) is the cheapest solution. This study aimed to quantify the cardiac strain and postural stress of male building construction workers associated with MMH tasks. Materials and methods: Mean (SD) age (years) and job experience (years) of the workers were 31.0(4.65) and 8.8 (3.23), respectively (n=35). Working peak heart rate was recorded by polar heart rate monitor, posture analysis was done by the Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS) and the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) method, body part discomfort was assessed by the Nordic questionnaire, and perceived exertion was evaluated by the Borg scale. Two-tailed unpaired Student’s t test was performed between peak heart rate of workers associated with MMH tasks and upper extremity intensive tasks (n=31). Results: Results revealed that mean peak heart rate of the workers was significantly different (higher) compared with that of the upper extremity intensive workers (p<0.05). This study showed that most of the working postures were hazardous. The magnitude of risk for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) was much higher as per REBA compared with OWAS. Most of the workers suffered from pain in the head, neck, shoulder, lower back, and arm region. As per the Borg scale, the rate of perceived exertion was ‘hard and heavy’ among most of the workers (68.57%). Conclusions: Postural stress and cardiac strain beyond the safe limit indicates the heavy nature of the job. Load limit optimization, ergonomic lifting technique, and rescheduled work-rest cycle are essential to reducing physiological and perceived work load.

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“…Cardiovascular stress index (CSI) was computed and compared with other workers ( Table 4) and found that CSI of rural hill women was 47.25 which was quite higher than cashew nut worker [19], steel workers [20] and car assembly workers [21]. Such variation of Cardiovascular Stress Index among group of workers might be due to difference in the degree of severity of job and environmental conditions and also duration of activity [22]. The Cardiovascular Stress index may be higher in case of women involved in firewood collection as they carried a load of firewood on their back in hilly terrain of Meghalaya.…”

Section: Physiological Responsesmentioning

confidence: 95%

Physiological Workload of Hill Farm Women of Meghalaya, India Involved in Firewood Collection

Borah

2015

Procedia Manufacturing

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Women are not only carriers of human race but civilization and sustainable development rest on them. Their role is quietly appreciated without economic recognition, regard and accountability. The household activities farm women of Meghalaya do are labour intensive, time consuming, arduous, monotonous, repetitive, manual and within economic return resulting in fatigue and drudgery. This study was conducted to determine the perceived physiological exertion, physiological responses and musculoskeletal problem while doing the activity of firewood collection. The subject included forty tribal women of West Garo Hill of Meghalaya within the age group of 20 to 50 years having the average BMI of 21.74, Lean body mass 31.99 kg., fat weight 12.59 kg., VO 2 max. 25.59 ml/kg/min and grip strength of 28.59 kg. While doing the activity average heart rate, energy expenditure, total cardiac cost of work and physiological cost of work were 129.67 bpm, 11.90 kj/min, 8529.59 beats and 47.92 ppm, respectively. The cardiovascular stress index was quite high (47.25) in comparison to many workers involved in factory activities. Perceived physical exertion was rated by farm women as "heavy to very heavy". Incidences of musculoskeletal problem were also very high as farm women reported that they had severe to very severe pain in upper and lower back, neck, head, arm, wrist and fingers.

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Assessment of cardiac strain amongst underground coal carriers—A case study in India

Cited by 9 publications

References 11 publications

Effects of occupational heat exposure on female brick workers in West Bengal, India

Effects of occupational heat exposure on female brick workers in West Bengal, India

Ergonomic evaluation of physiological stress of building construction workers associated with manual material handling tasks

Physiological Workload of Hill Farm Women of Meghalaya, India Involved in Firewood Collection

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