Heavy physical work under time pressure: the garbage collection service- a case study

Abstract

The increased generation of garbage has become a problem in large cities, with greater demand for collection services. The collector is subjected to high workload. This study describes the work in garbage collection service, highlighting the requirements of time, resulting in physical and psychosocial demands to collectors. Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA) -a method focused on the study of work in real situations was used. Initially, technical visits, global observations and unstructured interviews with different subjects of a garbage collection company were conducted. The following step of the systematic observations was accompanied by interviews conducted during the execution of tasks, inquiring about the actions taken, and also interviews about the actions, but conducted after the development of the tasks, photographic records and audiovisual recordings, of workers from two garbage collection teams. Contradictions between the prescribed work and activities (actual work) were identified, as well as the variability present in this process, and strategies adopted by these workers to regulate the workload. It was concluded that the insufficiency of means and the organizational structure of management ensue a situation where the collection process is maintained at the expense of hyper-requesting these workers, both physically and psychosocially.

Musculoskeletal Pain and Work-related Risk Factors among Waste Collectors in Hanoi, Vietnam: A Cross-sectional Study

“…one hand) elevated the risk of persistent MSDs in the WCs and this result agreed with published studies that reported an association between the increased risk of MSDs and poor working postures, quick motion, and continuous bending or twisting while carrying or lifting heavy objects [4], [8], [9], [37].…”