Manufacturing in developing economies continue to be labour intensive owing to its cost benefits. Productivity improvement in this circumstance is brought about by continuous evaluation of manual work for ergonomic risks and taking corrective actions. Existing tools for risk assessment seek to measure risk in isolation while risk often depends on several factors such as posture, loads, injury proneness of a job and environmental factors (EFs) (temperature, lighting conditions, etc.). In the absence of an integrated measurement tool for ergonomic risk assessment, we propose a composite measure called RBG risk scale. It provides a single measure of the ergonomic assessment in terms of several factors (e.g. posture, biomechanical forces, environmental, etc.) collectively contributing to ergonomic impairments. This integrated score provides a clearer picture of the risk involved in the job and hence it can be used as a basis for prioritising operations for ergonomic interventions.
While the existing measures for ergonomic assessment of job address specific factors of the job, we propose an index which is a composite measure of major factors affecting work. It has the potential to serve as a tool to rank and prioritise manual operations that need intervention either in the form of automation or in the form of methods improvement. Spread over a range of 11 points from 0 to 10, the magnitude of RBGRS serves as a clear pointer towards high-risk operations. An RBGRS score of 8 or more indicates that such operations are potential candidates for automation. Similarly, operations having high RULA/RWL scores or having high frequency of accidents can also be analysed for reducing their impacts on productivity and health.
References:
1. V. Balasubramanian, “Operational Risk Management using RBG Risk Scale (RBGRS),” 42nd National Safety Day, L&T Chennai, March 4, 2013.
2. V. Balasubramanian, “Limiting Occupational Hazards and Enhancing Operational Risk Management using RBGRS,” Regional Labor Institute (RLI), Chennai, January 23, 2012.
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