Postural hygiene in the workplace for making masapan crafts

Abstract

A worker may suffer muscle aches or numbness in the legs and fatigue after an eight-hour workday in which they occupy a permanent position for a long time. Considering minimum requirements of postural hygiene and ergonomics, we managed to avoid these discomforts without suffering health problems in the medium and long term. This study is part of a population of fifteen artisans who make marzipan handicrafts in the town of Calderón in Ecuador. The process arises from a transformation of the bread dough into an artisan dough more than 80 years ago, consisting of an ancestral art that needs quality from the obtaining of the dough to the artistic details of the figures, where the artisan makes his creations without realizing that they are taking poor posture in their workplace. The study analyzes the operation of the Manufacture of the Glue that is carried out standing up, mixing the ingredients to obtain the dough, and it is cooked until it obtains a homogeneous consistency. It is a repetitive activity in each of the production cycles. The OWAS and RULA methods were applied to assess the risks produced by physical loads derived from the activities carried out and the postures' global characterization, which were observed and classified in various possible combinations. The process is at level 3. That is, it requires the redesign of the task and increasing the active pauses. As a result, it was obtained that the risk category is level 2. The analyzed posture has the potential to cause damage to the musculoskeletal system.

Keywords: Marzipan Crafts, Postural Hygiene, Owas, Rula

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1001153