Ergonomic Assessment Report of Manual Handling Tasks.

Prepared for the sun Newspaper sdn bhd
TABLE OF CONTENT

1.0     EXECUTIVE SUMMARY                                                     3

2.0     INTRODUCTION                                                                  6

3.0     OBJECTIVE OF THE REPORT                                           7

          3.1     Outcomes of the Assessment Program   8

          3.2     Structure of this Report                               8

                    

4.0     METHODOLOGY                                                                 9

          4.1     Tasks Assessed in this Reports                    9

          4.2     Assessment Locations                                      9

          4.3     Dates of Assessments                                        9

          4.4     Analysis of Tasks                                                10

         

5.0     JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS RESULTS                                 11

          5.1     Overview of Manual Handling Tasks.     11

          5.2     Unloading Bundles from the Truck         12

          5.3     Wrapping Newspapers                                       17

         

6.0     RECOMMENDATIONS                                                       21

7.0     CONCLUSIONS                                                                    24

1.0       EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report summarizes the identification, assessment and control of manual handling hazards associated with the delivery of newspapers by Safety and Health Office of The Sun newspaper.

The assessment process involved a comprehensive review of delivery tasks at the Kuala Lumpur and Rawang depots with multiple visits over four days at each location (i.e. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday). Refer to the methodology section for more details regarding the assessment process.

The worksite assessments yielded a quantified level of task demands for a range of newspaper delivery tasks, particularly, unloading the delivery truck, operating the wrapping machine, loading the delivery vehicle and delivery of wrapped/bundled newspapers.

Some of the significant features associated with the worksite assessments include the weight of the bundles of newspapers that are unloaded from the truck. Bundles of newspapers were stacked up to five bundles high on the delivery truck (even when there was empty storage space on the truck – so four bundles high could have been achieved).

The weight and dimensions of wrapped newspapers was measured (refer to tables i & ii respectively).

Table i: Average weight (kilograms) of individual newspapers.

Table ii: Average height and width (millimeters) of cross section of Advertiser (& Sunday Mail) for each of the four sample days (Kuala Lumpur & Rawang combined). Width = width of cross sectional area of newspaper wrapped. Height = height of cross sectional area of newspaper (wrapped)

The Results section of this report has outlined significant ergonomic risk factors associated with the newspaper delivery tasks. These risk factors are particularly related to dimensions of the weekend papers (Advertiser and Sunday Mail) when combined with the repetition, volume and manual handling aspects of the delivery process. In particular, there are significant risks associated with the delivery/throwing of the larger dimensioned and heavier Saturday Advertiser and Sunday Mail newspapers.

The recommendations for managing the identified risks include the following:

1.1              Maximum of four bundles high on trucks

1.2              One bundle to be lifted at a time and carried from the truck.

1.3              Use trolleys to transfer bundles from trucks to wrapping machines.

2.1              Stand to one side of support stand when feeding the wrapping machine.

2.2              Review guarding on some wrapping machines.

2.3              Feed Advertiser and Sunday Mail “feather end first” into wrapping machine to reduce cross sectioned dimensions of wrapped newspapers.

2.4              Use earplugs when using wrapping machine.

3.1              Limit roped bundles to one bundle of newspapers that are loaded into vehicle.

3.2              Follow task specific manual handling tips for this task.

3.3              Follow design tips for paper catchment container.

4.1              Keep cross sectional area of wrapped newspapers to a maximum of 55mm

4.2              Keep weight of wrapped newspapers below a maximum limit of 0.6 kg.

5.1              Agreement needs to be achieved regarding the maximum number of newspapers that can be thrown per person in the delivery process.

The current level of throwing per person is too high, particularly given the over-weighted and dimensioned Saturday Advertiser and Sunday Mail. An estimate of 200-300 papers thrown per person (provided newspaper recommendations are followed – section 4) would be a more realistic requirement.

Thank you for asking me to undertake this ergonomic assessment program.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries regarding this report.

Yours sincerely,

Mohtar Muhammad Nazmie

Safety and Health Officer

The Sun Newspaper.

2.0       INTRODUCTION

Manual handling injuries represent some of the most frequent and significant of the injuries sustained by the number of staff of the The Sun newspaper in relation to the distribution of newspapers.

The process of delivering the newspapers involves a broad range of manual handling activities which includes lifting of heavy and bulky loads such as bundles of newspapers and in contrast, highly repetitive hand/arm movements that are associated with the wrapping and throwing of individual newspapers.

This report provides a synopsis of the identification, assessment and control of the manual handling hazards associated with the tasks performed by the staffs of the The Sun Newspaper during the distribution of newspapers.

This section of the report provides an outline of the following background information related to this project:

2.1                   Background Information

Factory and Machinery Act (FMA) 1967 has stated that:

“No person shall be employed to lift, carry or move load so heavy as to be likely to cause bodily injury to him”

This assessment report has followed the same approach outlined in the Occupational Safety & Health Act (1994) in terms of the identification, assessment and control of manual handing hazards that are associated with the distribution of newspapers by staff of The Sun newspaper.

As noted in the Executive Summary there is a set of requirements for “Handling Procedures” in section 8.5 of the Factory and Machinery Act (FMA) 1967 in relation to following safe work practices during the delivery of newspapers. As previously noted, there is also a requirement for the manufacturer of the newspapers to provide a product that is safe for those it contracts to distribute that newspaper. The previously mentioned handling assessment requirements as outlined in the Occupational Safety & Health Act (1994) were used in this assessment report.

As outlined in the methodology section of this report, all aspects of the distribution of newspapers by staffs of The Sun Newspaper were assessed in this report. The newspapers can be lifted up to six times by one person in the distribution process. This accuracy can significantly increase the risk factors associated with the newspaper delivery process. That is, the risk factor associated with repetition becomes increasingly hazardous when combined with the high volume of newspapers distributed and the increasing weights and dimensions of the newspapers.

3.0       OBJECTIVE OF THE REPORT

The aim of this assessment report was to assess hazards associated with each of the tasks performed by staff of the The Sun Newspaper during the distribution of newspapers.

Some detail is provided in relation to the level of risk associated with each of the tasks that were assessed. Risk control recommendations are also provided in relation to each of the tasks that have been examined in this assessment process.

Appendix A of this report summarizes the risk assessment matrix used in the assessment of the job tasks.

            3.1       Outcomes of the Assessment Program

There are two main outcomes for this report. The first is associated with the assessment of tasks performed by staffs of the The Sun Newspaper. This report provides an accurate assessment of “where we are now” in relation to the manual handling risks that are presented during the distribution of the newspapers. The second outcome is to provide detailed recommendations in relation to strategies that could be implemented to reduce the level of risk associated with the previously mentioned manual handling tasks.

3.2       Structure of this Report

There are three main sections following this part of the report. The first is the Methodology section, this is followed by the Results section and the last is the Recommendations section.

The Methodology section summarizes the means by which the data was collected for this program. The Results section provides a synopsis of the data which was extracted from the assessment process and determines the level of risks for individual tasks. Finally, the Recommendations section provides a series of risk control strategies that need to be implemented to control the risks which were identified in the Results section.

The Bibliography section lists the reference documents which were used in the research related to this report and the Appendices references materials which have been developed as part of the assessment process.

4.0       METHODOLOGY

            4.1       Tasks Assessed in this Reports

Table 1 summarizes each of the tasks which were assessed in this manual handling program.

Table 1: Tasks assessed in this program.

           

            4.2       Assessment Locations

Our contacts and locations for the two on-site ergonomic assessments were as follows:

1.      Indera Putra, Kuala Lumpur Depot, Setiawangsa.

2.      Ramayana Sundra, Rawang Depot, Bukit Sentosa.

4.3       Dates of Assessments

Table 2 summarizes the dates of the assessments at each of the two locations.

Table 2: Assessment dates for both Henley and Lonsdale locations.

           

4.4       Analysis of Tasks

The newspapers were weighed using digital scales or a digital strain gauge. During each testing night a sample of ten Advertiser (or Sunday Mail) newspapers would be measured. The length (this is a constant at 410mm), the cross sectional dimensions (height and width) and the weight of the individual newspapers (when wrapped) were measured. I also measured an additional sample of five newspapers on the Saturday and Sunday with the “crease” side fed in first. The main test sample on Saturday and Sunday was with the “feather end first” being fed into the wrapping machine. This provided a comparison of the cross sectional dimensions of the newspaper when it was wrapped, depending on which side was fed into the wrapping machine first. We also measured the Weekend Malaysian on the Saturday site visit and the Malaysian newspaper during the week assessment days (Monday & Wednesday).

We were able to quantify the number of newspapers delivered to our sample distributor and were also able to quantify the number of newspapers that were rolled during the distribution process by our sample distributor.

During the site visits we were able to undertake an analysis of tasks at the distribution depots and also went out on delivery runs from both the Henley and Lonsdale depots.

Finally, I undertook follow up visits to particular locations on the delivery runs that I assessed to measure clearances and fence heights to gain a further understanding of the risks associated with throwing newspapers at particular locations.

5.0       JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS RESULTS

This section of the report summarizes the results of the on-site assessments at the Kuala Lumpur and Rawang depots.

            5.1       Overview of Manual Handling Tasks.

Table 1 summarizes the manual handling tasks that are involved with the distribution of newspapers by staff of The Sun Newspaper.

Table 1 (repeated): Tasks assessed in this reports.

The results of the assessments for each of the four tasks are presented in this section of the report. The following aspects of each task are reviewed in the Results section:

1.      Task description.

2.      Job task elements.

3.      Risk factors.

4.      Conclusion.

5.2              Unloading Bundles from the Truck (Medium – High Injury Risk Rating)

Figures 2 – 3 illustrate the unloading of bundles of newspapers from the delivery truck.

          

           

Task Description – Unloading Bundles from the Truck

This task requires people to grasp a bundle of newspapers with two hands (generally one hand on each of the two straps), lift the bundles from the truck and take them to the wrapping machine. On occasion, some people would grasp one bundle of newspapers in each hand.

The height of the side of the trucks that were measured varied between 930mm (Isuzu truck) to 1280mm (GS Transport truck). Generally, the papers stacked 4 bundles high on the truck brings the total height of the bundles on the truck to 1.96metres above ground level.

On one occasion a truck had x5 bundles high which brought the height of the top bundle to 2,280mm above ground level.

The height of the individual bundles of newspapers varies but it is generally between 170mm and 210mm at the point where the straps cover the bundle. The bundle height slightly increases beyond the strap tension on the bundle.

The weight of the bundles varies according to the type of newspapers and how many newspapers are loaded within the bundle. Table 3 summarizes the weight of the bundles of newspapers for each of the four sample nights for both locations.

The bundles are unloaded from the truck, carried approximately between 2-15 meters and placed next to a wrapping machine. Alternatively, on the second delivery, the bundles (those which are not to be wrapped individually) may be lifted directly from the truck into the vehicle which is parked within 3 meters from the truck (Rawang Depot). A third variation is that bundles can be unloaded from the truck and placed on a trolley and then the trolley pushed to a wrapping machine for the newspapers to be processed.

Table 5 summarizes the number of bundles of Advertisers taken from the trucks and processed at each of the two locations which were assessed in this report.

At both locations there is quite clearly an increase in the numbers of bundles of Advertisers processed on Saturday, and Sunday Mails processed on Sundays, compared to other days. On Saturday there were two people working for the sample distributor but on the other days there was only one person involved with the distribution of the newspapers (for the sample distributor).

There is some assistance provided by the truck driver in relation to re-distributing the papers towards the edge of the truck and in fact unloading some newspapers from the truck. However, the majority of newspapers are unloaded by the newsagent distributors from the truck to their vehicle or wrapping machines.

Table 3: Average weight (kilograms) of bundles of newspapers.

Table 4: Average weight (kilograms) of individual newspapers.

Table 5: Number of bundles unloaded by one distributor.

            Job Task Elements – Unloading Bundles from the Truck

The key job task elements for this task are unloading the bundles of newspapers from the truck and transporting them to either the wrapping machine or delivery vehicle.

Risk Factors – Unloading Bundles from the Truck

The following risk factors have been identified for this manual handling task:

·         Reaching above shoulder height (Medium Injury Risk Rating)

·         Repetitive manual handling (High Injury Risk Rating)

·         Carrying the bundles (Medium Injury Risk Rating)

·         Bending and reaching forwards (Medium Injury Risk Rating)

In this particular case there is a significant interaction between the job task risk factors. That is, whilst the bundles of newspapers are at or about 15kg in weight, they are quite bulky in terms of their dimensions, lifted through extreme ranges of movement (lifted from above shoulder height and down to ground height) and there is a high volume of manual handling. This creates a medium risk manual handling scenario.

Repetition (High Injury Risk Rating)

Table 5 indicates highly repetitive manual handling associated with lifting the bundles of newspapers from the trucks to the wrapping machine and vehicles.

What also needs to be considered is that whilst these risk ratings have been ascribed to unloading the bundles of newspapers from the truck to the wrapping machine there is repeated lifting of the newspapers within the delivery process. That is, the newspapers are lifted up to six times during the distribution process (table 1). For example, as illustrated in Table 5, 107 bundles of Sunday Mail newspapers were delivered to one distributor at the Rawang Depot. If each bundle weighed approximately 15.3 kg (20 newspapers per bundle at approximately .76kg per newspaper) this would produce a total net weight of lifting the papers through the delivery process of 1,626.4kg lifted from the truck per shift. If the newspapers are lifted six times in the distribution process, this brings the total amount lifted through one night of the distribution of Sunday Mails for one agent to 9,758.4kg.   

Similar extrapolations of data can be applied to each of the data sets presented in Table 5. Quite clearly, on the Saturday and Sunday runs in particular, there is a very high level of repetition of lifting with a significant risk of injury from the combination of repetition and other previously mentioned risk factors associated with this work.

Carrying Newspapers (Medium Injury Risk Rating)      

One of the trucks does not fit into the distribution depot at Rawang and so it is parked outside. This increases the distance over which the newspapers need to be carried to the wrapping machine. Generally, the newspapers are carried between 4 and 6 meters between the truck and the wrapping machine if the truck is parked inside the depot. However, if the truck is parked outside the depot, the distance increases from 4 to 12 metres. This extra distance, particularly in light of the repetition of the task, can increase the manual handling risk factors associated with this work.

Bending and Reaching Forwards (Medium Injury Risk Rating)

There can be significant forward bending associated with lifting a bundle of newspapers from the truck (particularly if the truck driver has not pushed the bundle to the edge of the truck prior to it being lifted). There is also some bending below mid-thigh level required to place the bundle onto the trolley or placed on the floor next to the wrapping machine.

The interaction of the repetition of this task combined with the reaching forwards and the biomechanical loading on the spine that is related to lifting the papers off the truck, carrying them and loading them next to the wrapping machine, would result in a high potential for risk of injury. These risk factors would be further increased if one person lifted two bundles of newspapers (particularly, if combined with unsafe manual handling practices).

Conclusion – Unloading Bundles from the Truck

There are significant risk factors associated with the reaching above shoulder height, repetition of the task, carrying the bundles of newspapers and bending and reaching whilst load-bearing the bundles of newspapers. The interaction of these previously mentioned risk factors has resulted in a risk rating of medium to high being associated with this job task.

5.3              Wrapping Newspapers (Medium Injury Risk Rating)

Task Description – Wrapping Papers

As illustrated in figures 9, newspapers are placed on a stand which is approximately 780mm in height. The bundles of newspapers, as previously noted, are between 190 & 210mm in height. The papers are lifted individually from the bundle with a bilateral pincer grip and fed into the wrapping machine. The machine wraps the paper and ejects it automatically into a collection bin which is located directly adjacent to the wrapping machine.

One of the key variations in the wrapping process is that some distributors will rotate the paper 180° and feed it into the wrapping machine “feather end first”. Turning the newspaper prior to feeding it into the wrapping machine (when required) results in the wrapped newspaper having a cross sectional surface area which is circular. However, if the thicker newspapers are fed through “crease end first” they tend to have a more oval shape. This is highlighted in the dimensions of the newspapers which are summarized in table 7.

The additional turning of the newspaper prior to feeding it into the machine introduces an extra step in the process. However, it does reduce the cross sectional surface area of the larger newspapers which is critical in reducing the risk of overuse injury that is related to throwing the newspapers from the vehicle during the delivery process.

Table 6: Average height and width (millimeters) of cross section of Advertiser (& Sunday Mail) for each of the four sample days (KL & Rawang combined). Width = width of cross sectional area of newspaper wrapped. Height = height of cross sectional area of newspaper (wrapped). Data for ‘crease end’ first wrapping only.

Job Task Elements – Wrapping Papers

The key job task elements for this task are as follows:

·         Bilateral pincer grip of the newspapers.

·         Twisting the spine when feeding the newspaper into the wrapping machine.

·         Static muscle loading on neck and shoulders related to prolonged fixed work procedures (Approximately 2 – 4 hours of wrapping required per person each night depending on volume of number of people wrapping).

Risk Factors – Wrapping Papers

Repetition and over use related injury (Medium – High Injury Risk Rating)

An example of the repetition of this task is reflected in the following calculation:

·         Rawang Depot – Saturday night, 840 newspapers wrapped in 150 minutes.

·         This corresponds to 840 newspapers wrapped every 9000 seconds

·         This corresponds to 1 newspaper being fed into the machine and wrapped every 10.71 seconds.

The very short cycle time, limited range of movement and repetitive work sustained over a 2-3 hour period represents a significant risk of over use related injury for this task.

As figures 9 illustrate, there is a deviation of the hand downwards (ulnar deviation) combined with the pincer grip and short cycle time for this task. All of these movement elements are consistent with research which has identified increased risk of over use related injury such as carpal tunnel syndrome (Silverstein et al, 1987a & 1987b).

Static Muscle Loading of Neck and Shoulders (Medium Injury Risk Rating)

In order to process the high volume of newspapers, the wrapper will stand in the position illustrated in figures 9 & 10 for approximately 2 – 3 hours per night (depending on the volume of newspapers to be wrapped).

In this case the neck is being flexed at approximately 40° and the arms extended forwards which would result in a significant strain on the trapezius muscles and this can increase neck and shoulder fatigue.

Conclusion – Wrapping Papers

The short cycle time, repetitive hand/arm movements, deviated joint posture and prolonged nature of the paper wrapping task means there is a medium injury risk rating associated with the upper limb over use related injury (particularly tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome).

The static muscle loading of the neck and shoulders will also contribute to the neck and shoulder muscle fatigue which could be related to this task.

6.0       RECOMMENDATIONS

This section of the report summarizes the risk control recommendations that can be implemented to control the hazards that have previously been identified in the results section of this report.

1.1       Maximum height of bundles on trucks.

On occasions, bundles are stacked up to five highs with unused storage capacity towards the rear of the truck. A maximum of four bundles high should be stacked on the truck.

1.2              One bundle to be lifted at a time and carried from the truck.

Figure 6 illustrates contrasting styles of lifting bundles of newspapers from the truck. It is generally recommended that only one bundle be lifted at a time from the truck. This allows the operator to hold the bundle closer to their body to reduce overall weight and better arm position when lifting the bundle. This is a safer manual handling practice and reduces risk of injury.

1.3       Use trolleys to transfer bundles from the truck to the wrapping machine.

A wide assortment of trolleys is used to transfer bundles from the truck to the wrapping machine. These include a variety of types of designs of sack trucks and flatbed trolleys. These trolleys save a lot of excessive double handling and carrying of bundles of newspapers and reduce the manual forces involved with carrying materials.

2.1              Stand to one side of support stand when feeding newspapers into the wrapping machine.

Figure 4 shows a reduced level of lumbar spine flexion as a result of standing to one side of the paper stand when feeding newspapers into the wrapping machine. If operators stand behind the stand it causes more lumbar spine flexion as the operator has to lean forwards over a greater horizontal distance to feed the machine.

2.2              Review guarding on some wrapping machines

The main cog and some moving parts are exposed on the wrapping machine shown in figure 5. In contrast the wrapping has the cog and moving parts of the machine covered, which reduces the risk of becoming entangled with the moving parts during the wrapping process. The wrapping machines of the types illustrated figure 5 should have the moving parts guarded like on the machine.

3.                  Weight of newspapers.

It is recommended that the maximum weight of the newspapers be in the order of .6 kilograms with the current levels of volume of newspapers distributed and thrown per person. Again, as discussed in section 4.1 of this report, the level of risk associated with this task can be reduced by reducing the repetition of the task per person. That is, having more people throw the newspapers, thus reducing the volume of thrown newspapers per person. At the current level of work load of throwing newspapers per person, the bulk of the mechanical stresses on the person are significant, resulting in a high degree of risk for the task as it is currently undertaken.

In summary, if the weight and dimensions of the newspaper are to exceed that which is recommended in this report, then the volume of newspapers distributed per person is to be reduced in order to significantly reduce the risk of injury associated with wrapping and throwing the Saturday Advertiser, Weekend Australian and Sunday Mail newspapers.

      4.   Newspaper dimensions

      As noted in the Results section of this report the risk of overuse injury increases with the weight and dimensions of the wrapped newspaper, particularly in light of the highly repetitive carrying and throwing actions used to distribute the newspapers.

      It is recommended that the cross sectional dimensions of the newspaper be kept at a maximum of 55mm in both width and height of the cross sectional area of the wrapped newspaper. As noted in the previously mentioned Results section, this will maximize the grip strength capability of the person to hold and maneuver the wrapped newspaper with minimal risk of overuse injuries of the type that are described.

      Simply folding the newspaper “feather end” first will not be enough in itself to sufficiently reduce the cross sectional area of the weekend Saturday Advertiser, Weekend Australian and Sunday Mail to a level that is safe to distribute with the current methods and current volumes that are distributed per person. Some of the risk associated with this can be reduced by reducing the level of repetition of the task. That is, providing more people to perform the task and thus reducing the number of papers for an individual to handle.

7.0       CONCLUSIONS

It is an obligation on the company to ensure the safety of workers are in good condition. It is also to create a climate of order and balance.

This report was written to assess the real situation experienced by employees at The Sun Newspaper Sdn Bhd. Lately, many workers complain of backache and headache results of their work environment.

And with that report by referring Occupational Safety and Health Act (Malaysia) try to ensure that each area of ​​work in the company is done by guided guide set by the government.

Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) is used extensively to identify potential causes of the discomfort caused employees that affect their agronomic situation. This analysis is also used to identify machines or machines that cause these workers suffer from back pain and headaches.

And the findings of this report also enables me as Safety and Health Officer suggested that the best guideline to prevent recurrence of the above events. With a high level of readiness employees can also improve employee productivity which benefits the company.

May be produced from these reports, appropriate measures may be taken by the company to resolve the problems plaguing workers in the company. Recommendations provided in this report can be used also been identified and agreed upon by the worker. And most important of all, it's legally authorized government.

ATTACHMENT

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