Safety management practices in small and medium enterprises in India.

BACKGROUND: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are often the main pillar of an economy. Minor accidents, ergonomics problems, old and outdated machinery, and lack of awareness have created a need for implementation of safety practices in SMEs. Implementation of healthy working conditions creates positive impacts on economic and social development. METHODS: In this study, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 30 randomly chosen SMEs in and around Mumbai, Maharashtra, and other states in India to evaluate safety practices implemented in their facilities. The study also looked into the barriers and drivers for technology innovation and suggestions were also received from the respondent SMEs for best practices on safety issues. RESULTS: In some SMEs, risks associated with safety issues were increased whereas risks were decreased in others. Safety management practices are inadequate in most SMEs. Market competitiveness, better efficiency, less risk, and stringent laws were found to be most significant drivers; and financial constraints, lack of awareness, resistance to change, and lack of training for employees were found to be main barriers. CONCLUSION: Competition between SMEs was found to be major reason for implementation of safety practices in the SMEs. The major contribution of the study has been awareness building on safety issues in the SMEs that participated in the project.

Evaluation of the working posture and prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among medical laboratory technicians.

BACKGROUND: Technological advancement in the medical laboratories has exposed the laboratory technicians to various ergonomic hazards due to nature of their work. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to analyze the working postures, to find out the prevalence of work related musculoskeletal disorders and to investigate the relationship between musculoskeletal disorders with individual factors, work characteristics and the working postures. METHODS: The study was conducted among 60 medical laboratory technicians. Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and RULA were used for this study. RESULTS: Mean and SD of age, BMI and work experience of the technicians were 28.6 ± 9.04 years, 22.07 ± 4.5 and 7.1 ± 8.2 years respectively. The overall prevalence of musculoskeletal problems experienced by the technicians was 73.3% and the major affected areas were trunk, knees, neck and ankles/feet. Statistical analysis shows significant associations between musculoskeletal symptoms and VAS scores. Also a significant difference was found between the means of pre and post work shift scores of neck, low back and knee pain. Postural analysis showed that the subject's mean Score A, B and Grand Score were found to be 3.98 ± 0.8, 4.95 ± 1.6 and 6 ± 1.02 respectively. The final RULA score 6 ± 1.02 emphasizes on poor workstation design which resulted in unnatural posture. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlighted the prevalence of postural and musculoskeletal problems among medical laboratory technicians. Intervention of administrative and engineering controls can significantly reduce ergonomic hazards.

Study on lumbar kinematics and the risk of low back disorder in female university students by using shoes of different heel heights.

The study was taken up to investigate the effects of heel heights on lumbar kinematics and the risk of Low Back Disorder (LBD) in females. Nineteen female university students (24.5 ± 3.36 yrs) volunteered in the study. Lumbar kinematics was measured by using Industrial Lumbar Motion Monitor (iLMM). The volunteers were asked to walk for a distance of 50 meters in 3 different given conditions i.e bare foot (Heel 0), with flat heels (Heel 1) and with high heels (Heel 2). Heights of Heel 1 and Heel 2 were 1.5 ± 0.84 cm and 5.5 ± 1.70 cm respectively. The Lumbar kinematic parameters studied were- Average Twisting Velocity (ATV), Maximum Sagital Flexion (MSF) and Maximum Lateral Velocity (MLV). It was observed that all the above mentioned Lumbar kinematics - ATV, MSF and MLV increases with increase of heel heights, which in turn increases the risk of LBD. As a result of increase in Lumbar kinematic values with increase in heel heights, LBD risk has also increased. Mean and SD of the LBD risk with Heel 0, Heel 1 and Heel 2 were 16.79 ± 6.04%, 19.00 ± 7.38% and 22.11 ± 6.98% respectively. Lower stature with high heels showed higher risk of LBD than the higher stature with high heels.

A study of subjective visual disturbances in jewellery manufacturing.

Subjective Visual Disturbances are silent adversaries that appear over a period of continued exposure and arise when the visual demands of the tasks exceed the visual abilities of the user. Jewellery manufacturing activity involves precision designs, setting the metal and stones, polishing and filing which requires higher visual demand. Therefore, it is expected that the jewellery manufacturing workers may experience subjective visual disturbances. This study was taken up with the following objectives 1) To study the presence of subjective visual disturbances among jewellery manufacturing workers and compare the same with VDT operators 2) To study the effect of work exposures on subjective visual disturbances and 3) to ascertain whether subjective visual disturbances have any permanent vision related problems. The study was carried out on jewellery manufacturing workers, VDT operators and on graduate students. The symptoms of subjective visual disturbances were identified using a questionnaire developed by Sheedy (2003). Viewing distances were measured and visual angles were calculated. The eye check--ups were also carried out. The subjective visual disturbances were higher in jewellery manufacturing workers. The findings suggest that work exposure has an impact on the causation of subjective visual disturbances. No pathological conditions of the eyes were observed.

Effect of exercise and heat-load on simple reaction time of university students.

Visual and auditory simple reaction times for both right and left hands of young university male students were recorded with a simple reaction timer, before and after an exercise schedule without and with elevated temperatures in a climatic chamber. The results indicated a decrease in both visual and auditory reaction times after the exercise, but a marked increase in them was noticed when exercise was performed at elevated temperatures. The difference in reaction times in preferred and nonpreferred hands was negligible at rest, i.e., without any exercise and elevated temperature. However, the difference was significant when exercise was performed at elevated temperatures. Visual reaction time was longer than auditory reaction time in all conditions. The results suggest that in hot industries, increased temperature has a specific rather than general effect on cognitive processes, perception and attentiveness, leading to increased chances of human errors, fatal accidents and loss of productivity.

A comparative assessment of the impact of different occupations on workers' static musculoskeletal fitness.

An ergonomic assessment of the involvement of static muscular forces like back strength, grip strength and pinch strength in different occupations was made. A study was conducted on 45 normal adult males (15 subjects per group) which included video display terminal (VDT) operators, industrial workers and safety inspectors. Their maximum back strength, handgrip strength and pinch strength were measured with dynamometers. The observed values of back strength were significantly lower in VDT operators while significantly higher in safety inspectors and moderate in industrial workers. The values of grip strength and pinch strength of all sample groups were more or less similar. The findings clearly indicate that static muscular strength varies significantly in different occupations. Heavy static muscular load might lead to an accumulation of metabolic waste and toxins on the back resulting in lower back strength in VDT operators and industrial workers.