Orlando Antonina R, King Phyllis M
Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA.
J Occup Rehabil. 2004 Mar;14(1):63-76. doi: 10.1023/b:joor.0000015011.39875.75.
It has been suggested that prolonged standing is associated with pain and discomfort experienced by assembly line workers and other occupations. In an attempt to alleviate these problems, companies have implemented ergonomic interventions which include alterations to the flooring conditions upon which workers stand. The purpose of this study was to investigate assembly line workers' perceptions of fatigue and discomfort associated with various body regions after standing for an 8-h shift on three different flooring conditions: (1) standing on a wood-block floor, (2) standing on a floor mat, and (3) wearing insoles. Eleven assembly line workers employed at a large Midwest manufacturing company participated in the study. They were exposed to one of three flooring conditions each Monday for 3 weeks during their 8-h work shift. A Latin Square research design was used to schedule participant rotation. Following their shift, participants answered a questionnaire inquiring about perceived firmness of the flooring condition, and perceived fatigue discomfort. Overall, this study found that the insoles and mat conditions appeared to decrease general fatigue, leg fatigue, and discomfort ratings. Moderately strong correlations were found for the variables of age, height, weight, and job tenure. Older participants and participants with more seniority experienced less discomfort while wearing insoles. Shorter subjects indicated higher scores of perceived firmness while standing on the wood-block floor and mat. No statistically significant differences were found between flooring condition and subjective ratings of fatigue or discomfort in various body regions. However, the insoles and mat conditions were perceived significantly softer than the wood-block floor condition. Insoles and mat conditions were also chosen significantly more often as conditions participants would use after the study when compared to the wood-block floor condition.
有人提出，长时间站立与装配线工人及其他职业所经历的疼痛和不适有关。为了缓解这些问题，公司实施了人体工程学干预措施，其中包括改变工人站立的地面条件。本研究的目的是调查装配线工人在三种不同地面条件下站立8小时轮班后，对与身体各个部位相关的疲劳和不适的感知：（1）站在木块地板上，（2）站在地板垫上，（3）穿着鞋垫。一家大型中西部制造公司雇佣的11名装配线工人参与了这项研究。在他们8小时的工作轮班期间，他们每周一接触三种地面条件之一，持续3周。采用拉丁方研究设计来安排参与者的轮换。轮班后，参与者回答了一份问卷，询问对地面条件的感知硬度以及感知到的疲劳不适。总体而言，本研究发现，鞋垫和地垫条件似乎能降低总体疲劳、腿部疲劳和不适评分。在年龄、身高、体重和工作年限等变量之间发现了中等强度的相关性。年龄较大的参与者和资历较深的参与者在穿着鞋垫时感到的不适较少。较矮的受试者表示，站在木块地板和地垫上时，感知硬度得分较高。在不同身体部位的地面条件与疲劳或不适的主观评分之间未发现统计学上的显著差异。然而，人们感觉鞋垫和地垫条件明显比木块地板条件更柔软。与木块地板条件相比，鞋垫和地垫条件在研究结束后被参与者选择使用的频率也明显更高。
