Abstract: The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the most important risks of two types of industrial vacuum cleaners on five related muscles and to provide an overview of the most important issues to highlight the main trends and issues regarding the working conditions, hazard exposure and health outcomes, to identify gaps in knowledge and information available, and to formulate recommendations for future studies. Electromyography (EMG) analysis techniques are widely used in ergonomics and biomechanical studies for analyzing the demand of a job, comparing different tasks, and ergonomics design. Electromyography (EMG) was recorded to measure the electrical activity of different muscles including trapezius, medial deltoid, biceps brachii, brachioradialis and torso located in the neck, shoulder, upper arm, forearm and lower back respectively. Four subjects ranging from 23 and 28 years of age were analyzed. Surface electromyography of different muscles was measured and numerous signal processing methods were applied. ANOVA was used to assess the effects of the dependent variables as well as their interactions. Results of this study demonstrated that there was interaction between vacuum type and trunk flexion angle. Also, there was no significant difference in average compression between vacuum type and trunk flexion angle (p<00.1). The study concluded that trunk flexion angle was more sensitive to create stresses on torso muscles compared to trapezius muscles with either the backpack or upright vacuum cleaners. The backpack vacuum cleaner has an effect of torso angles on five related muscles compared to the upright vacuum cleaner regarding cleaning rates. Using backpack vacuum cleaner results in less body stress and risk compared to the upright vacuum cleaner.
Keywords: Muscle activity, Ergonomics, Electromyography, Vacuum Cleaning, Non-Neutral Torso Postures.
Title: A Biomechanical Analysis of Vacuum Cleaning Task Using Risk Assessment Tools
Author: Dr. Abdulbaset Frefer, Sahapol Hoon knew, Rabia Almamlook
International Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Technology
ISSN 2348-7593 (Online)
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