627 Design of vermicompost winnow machine for disabled farmers in thailand

Abstract

Introduction The majority of disabled Thai people live in rural areas. Commonly, it is the responsibility of the family to take care of their disabled relatives. Nowadays, Thai government has made efforts to improve the life quality of disabled people by providing the employment in various organisations or assisting them to start up their own business. Most of them are working in agricultural sector exposing to many risks because of their physical restrictions. Particularly, disabled farmers who lack of knowledge are the most vulnerable group regarding to expose any hazard in daily life and work. Therefore, the occupational health program should be promoted to reduce their risk and injuries. Method This cross-sectional research aimed to promote the Occupational Health and Safety(OHS) in disabled farmers who produce vermicompost by using participatory approach and investigate the working environmental risk by Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and ergonomic assessment tools (RULA and REBA). Result Disabled farmers were gained the OHS knowledge to enhance their ability to recognise their occupational health risk and to improve their working conditions. The high risk process was the winnowing. They spent long time to shake the product with the filter for separating between vermicompost and earthworms, moreover, they bended their body to collect the earthworms for next production. Therefore, we designed the vermicompost winnow machine for disabled farmers whether who are disable on leg or arm to reduce their time and muscle injuries. Additionally, the machine can reduce the ergonomic risk confirmed by RULA and REBA assessment. Conclusion It is necessary to support disabled person to work and the government should be promoted to educate occupational health and safety program. Moreover, the machine or instruments for their work should be suited to their physical restrictions.