A Wearable Measurement System for the Risk Assessment Due to Physical Agents: Whole Body Mechanical Vibration Injuries

Abstract

AbstractWhole Body Vibration (WBV) is caused by vibration transmitted to human body through the seat or the feet. Typical causes are motor vehicles and machines. So high levels of whole-body vibration affect people who drive vehicles over rough surfaces as part of their job, for example off-road vehicles such as tractors, excavators, pallet-trucks and dumper trucks. Exposure to high levels of vibration can risk the health and safety of the worker. Typically vibration transmitted to body may be cause of back injuries and may aggravate pre-existing pathologies affecting the lumbar spine. The risks are greatest when the vibration magnitudes are high, or if the exposure time is long. Moreover frequent and regular exposure to severe shocks or jolts can increase the resultant effects. So syndromes and diseases affect backbone and cardio-vascular system. The European Directive 2002/44/EC deals with the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents. The “Vibration Directive” sets minimum standards for reducing the risks from whole-body vibration, so that daily exposure limits are fixed.The present paper proposes a wearable measurement system for the whole-body vibration risk assessment. The system is a portable device based on a Pocket PC, a DAQ card and a set of accelerometers. It is able to estimate and to process the vibration exposure levels according to the guidelines of ISO Standards. The purpose is to check the exposure of workers to physical agents and to prevent risks during the use of driving vehicles.Keywordswhole body vibrationhealth injuriesmedical instrumentationvibration measurementsrisk assessment