Ergonomic Evaluation of Occupational Tasks in a Sofa Making ‎Workshop Based on KIM and Presentation of Corrective Actions

Aims: Manual tasks and load carrying and handling are the most important tasks in a sofa making workshop. Evaluation of these types of tasks is very important for identifying the health risks to which workers are exposed. The aim of this study was the ergonomic evaluation of occupational tasks in a sofa making workshop based on KIM and presentation of corrective actions.
Instruments and The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a sofa making workshop in Ardabil in 2017. All tasks of the sofa making workers (n=22) were examined, among which 7 main tasks were identified. The identified tasks were analyzed, using KLM-MHO and KLM-LHC methods. Manual tasks and load lifting and carrying tasks were evaluated, scored, and checked out, using EXCELL 2010.
Findings: Among the tasks examined, the tasks of woodcarving, preparation for coloring, and sofa dressing showed the highest final score (Risk Grade 4), followed by jointing wood parts with glue and coloring (Risk Grade 3). Most items with high workload were related to grips status, repetitive movement in the hand-finger area, position and repetitive movements of the joints at the end of motion range, and curved forward trunk posture.
In carving, preparation for coloring, and dressing tasks, the amount of workload is high. In jointing wood parts with glue and coloring tasks, the amount of workload increases dramatically. And, in designing layout on wood and cutting tasks, the amount of load increases.