Title: Proactive risk assessment and management tools for manual handling in manufacturing paving blocks

Authors: Merry Siska; Afdhal Helmansyah Bakar; Vera Devani; Misra Hartati; Rika Taslim; M. Ihsan Hamdy

Addresses: Industrial Engineering Department, Science and Technology Faculty, State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia ' Industrial Engineering Department, Science and Technology Faculty, State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia ' Industrial Engineering Department, Science and Technology Faculty, State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia ' Industrial Engineering Department, Science and Technology Faculty, State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia ' Industrial Engineering Department, Science and Technology Faculty, State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia ' Industrial Engineering Department, Science and Technology Faculty, State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau, Pekanbaru, Indonesia

Abstract: This study was conducted on a business unit that manually manufactured paving blocks which led to injuries involving musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Data obtained from the Nordic body map of four workers, showed that 14.81% failed to fall sick, 40.74% were partly sick, 36.3% were sick, and 3.7 very sick. This study, therefore, proposed a RAMP (risk assessment and management tools) method to identify and analyse work activities. The result showed that the level of risk in paving block manufacturing activities was 7, 13, and 15 in categories of high, moderate, and low, respectively, with a total score of 80.40. After proper improvement, there was a reduction in moderate and high bending duration from 34.8 to 25 minutes and 131.55 to 95.8 minutes, respectively, with lifting frequency from 1000 to 500 times. The reduction made a total assessment score of 74.20, therefore, further study is required to conduct layout on the workspace.

Keywords: Nordic body map; manual material handling; MMH; musculoskeletal disorders; MSDs; risk assessment and management tools; RAMP.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2022.123614

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2022 Vol.30 No.3/4, pp.350 - 365

Received: 11 May 2019
Accepted: 31 Dec 2019
Published online: 30 Jun 2022 *

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