TY - JOUR PY - 2021// TI - Factors affecting material-cart handling in the roofing industry: evidence for administrative controls JO - International journal of environmental research and public health A1 - Zhang, Zhenyu A1 - Lin, Ken-Yu A1 - Lin, Jia-Hua SP - e1510 EP - e1510 VL - 18 IS - 4 N2 - Material-cart handling can be strenuous and lead to overexertion injuries. The aim of this study is to produce a thorough understanding of how the cart condition, tire type, physical environment-related factors, and load interact to influence the ergonomics and productivity of cart handling. Eighteen roofing carts with different conditions, tires, and loads were tested by one subject on three laboratory tracks: one L-shaped, one with ramps within constrained spaces, and one with obstacles within constrained spaces. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to quantify the main and interaction effects of the factors of interest on the cart operations. The research findings confirm that using aged carts increases the injury risk by as much as 30.5% and decreases productivity by 35.4%. Our study also highlights the necessity of keeping an open space for cart operation; the travel distance from a cart to a ramp/obstacle should be greater than 61 cm. Finally, the results suggest the at-risk thresholds for different ramp slopes and obstacle heights, and the safe load capacities for the various working circumstances that are common on construction sites. The evidence created in this study can be translated into administrative controls for cart handling to reduce overexertion injuries and enhance performance.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1661-7827 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041510 ID - ref1 ER -