Authors: Mukhopadhyay, Prabir; Ghosal, Soumyajit

Source: The Design Journal, Volume 11, Number 1, June 2008 , pp. 65-80(16)

Publisher: Berg Publishers

Abstract:

This study focused on the incense stick (known as agarbatti locally) manufacturers of Ahmedabad in the Gujarat state of India, with an eye to improving productivity and facilitating the occupational health and safety of the workers involved in this profession. There were incidences of work-related musculoskeletal disorders amongst the workers - 33 per cent of the study's respondents complained of pain in the lumbosacral segment of the spinal cord and 30 per cent reported pain in the upper arm at the end of the day's work. Based on the observations, four workstation prototypes were fabricated. Each was tested in the field by actual workers, as well as in the laboratory. Only after a prototype was accepted in principle by the users was the next prototype fabricated. Based on user feedback, the final prototype was produced which was capable of increasing productivity by approximately 15 per cent and reducing pain in different parts of the body; this was only after 15 days of user testing.

Keywords: INCENSE STICKS; MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS; LOW BACK PAIN

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/175630608X317913

Publication date: 2008-06-01

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