RISK ASSESSMENT OF SALT WORKERS: AN ERGONOMIC APPROACH

Abstract

This study focused on the ergonomic risk assessment of salt workers in Occidental Mindoro. The study intended to determine which work activities posed risks to the farm workers, find if significant relationship between profile variables and the total pain and body parts pain experienced by the salt workers from doing the work activities that posed risks. The Nordic Questionnaire was used to detect symptoms to the neck, back, shoulders and extremities. It is composed of 28 multiple choice questions and structured into two well-differentiated parts, the first part refers to symptoms in nine parts of the body(neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists/hands, upper back, lower back, hip/thighs, knees and ankles during the last 12 months. The second part refers to the symptoms in three parts of the body (neck, shoulders and lower back) throughout the subject’s working life/seven days beforehand. To interpret data, correlation analysis and descriptive statistics were used. Findings of the study revealed that the salt workers are middle adults, have been working in the salt farms for most of their lives, have heights and weights that are well within the average height and weight for Filipino males. Results further suggest that the work activities that posed risks and caused pain to the salt workers are, transporting salt, collecting salt and filling the salterns with brine. Further, age and years of working in the salt farms are also found to be significantly related to the pain in body parts experienced by the saltworkers in doing the activities that pose risks to them. The body parts that are likely to feel pain are neck, lower and upper back and knees. Lastly, in knowing the risky work activities of salt farmers, mitigation measures can be proposed.