Abstract
Vibrations namely; sound waves are the waves that have a certain number of repetitions in a period. The difference from the sound waves is that the sound is transmitted through the air, while the vibration uses the solid parts of the body. Vibrations pass to operators' hands and arms and even to all their bodies from machinery and equipment used in building operations. Vibrations cause many discomforts. Especially in the construction sector, serious health problems are observed in workers working in high-frequency vibration-emitting machines and equipment. The most common of these health problems is a vibratory syndrome, which causes serious occupational and some health problems in the medium and long term. Vibration syndrome sufferers especially in construction works experience functional, social and phycological disabilities. Hence, the insurances and the depreciation of these occupations must be different from those of other employees. In this study, construction workers’ vibration syndrome risk classifications were conducted. Difficulty in tight jar opening, weak hand grip and finger color changes are among the general problems of the employees. According to the questionnaire, finger coldness and finger numbness are less common. According to this results suggestions on necessary precautions and legal legislation were presented. A Taguchi method-based optimization was performed on the retirement age of construction workers exposed to vibration. It is concluded that the working time of construction workers should be re-examined as per the analysis results. Related legislations can be kept up with the date as per the recommended retirement age for each occupation.
Highlights
In recent years, construction projects have increasingly developed into a complex and challenging structure
Recent study indicates that workers who are exposed to vibration at great risk of having Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) of shoulder and neck (Charles, Ma, Burchfiel, & Dong, 2018)
No female worker was interviewed. 175 construction workers are participated in the questionnaire
Summary
Construction projects have increasingly developed into a complex and challenging structure. Construction workers require a variety of skills to achieve the objectives of construction projects within specified time and budget. Electrical plate compactor (Misir & Laman, 2017), roller operations, vibrator operations and hand compactor operations are some of the usage areas for the vibration for the compaction of construction materials. Construction workers are often forced to work for a long time using their physical strength to the fullest. Some diseases start to appear in workers who work for a long time in this way. These diseases are Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) and Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL)(Handford et al, 2017; R. A. House, Sauvé, & Jiang, 2010; Nath, Akhavian, & Behzadan, 2017; Thompson, Turcot, Youakim, & House, 2011)
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