Anthropometric Considerations for Occupational Well-Being of Women Weavers Engaged in Commercial Handloom Weaving

Abstract

Handloom sector of India has served the economy in terms of employment where 31.45 Lakhs household are engaged in handloom weaving and women weavers comprises of 71.8% of the total workforce (Handloom census 2019–20). The occupational risk of women weavers is a key factor in handloom weaving. It is possible to reduce by developing a well-equipped ergonomically designed workplace considering the anthropometric measurements. The present study was undertaken to assess the anthropometric considerations for the occupational wellbeing of women weavers engaged in commercial handloom weaving. Various parameters were used i.e., weight, height, grip strength which were recorded by weighting balance, anthropometric rods, grip dynamometer. A multistage sampling design was used. A total of 90 weavers, thirty weavers engaged in each category of looms was selected purposively. The anthropometric dimension of weavers working in Frame-loom using jacquard, Frame-loom using dobby, and Throw-shuttle loom using dobby was taken and compared with different female and male anthropometric data. The mean stature of the women weavers was found to be 153 cm ± 3.39 and high variation between the ranges of 5th and 95th percentile values. The result shows that the anthropometric dimension of women weaver varies with the male population. The proportion of stature indicated for dimension as sitting height, buttock popliteal length, and sitting popliteal height was found to be 0.501, 0.280, and 0.268. Therefore, an implementation of these data will help to create comfortability, safety, the well-being of the user and enhance the productivity of commercial handloom weavers.