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City Parcel Sort (Composite Sort) Workplace Ergonomics: Draft Summary Report
January 15, 2004
Personal Information
Twenty-five workers responded to this survey.
Height
The height of the respondents ranged from 5 feet 1 inch to 6 feet 2 inches.
More than half the respondents were 5 feet 4 inches or less.
Gender
There were 13 female respondents and 11 male respondents.
One respondent did not answer this question.
Which hand do you normally write with?
All respondents use their right hand for writing.
What shift do you work?
Eleven respondents work the night or #3 shift.
Twelve respondents work the day or #2 shift.
Three respondents work the evening or #1 shift.
One respondent indicated two answers.
How long have you worked at City parcel sort?
Two respondents have worked six months or less.
Two respondents have worked between seven and twelve months.
Five respondents worked thirteen to eighteen months.
Four respondents worked between nineteen to twenty-three months.
Twelve respondents worked twenty-four months.
Have you ever had any discomfort or pain since you started working at City Parcel Sort?
Twenty-four respondents answered YES.
One respondent answered NO. However, this respondent also indicated left feet in the discomfort survey.
Responses from the body map (see Figure A-1)
Many respondents to the discomfort survey indicated that they experience work related discomfort either occasionally or often in a variety of body parts. Refer to body map for details.
Respondents to the discomfort survey attributed work related discomfort or pain most often to the following body parts: lower back (20), elbows (16), shoulders (18), upper back (17), neck (13), forearms (12), wrists/hands (12), knees (13) and ankles/feet (13).
Which of the following work tasks do you think contributes most to your discomfort? Respondents could choose more than one answer.
Feed – 21 respondents Lane 4 (sorting to monos) – 15
Push – 13 Code (keying) – 10
Loading – 9 Racking lanes 1 to 3 – 9
Racking DFGH loops – 6 Packet sort – 4
Porter - 3
Code (keying)
Standing Less than 25% of time – 4 respondents
80% of time – 1
100% of time – 1
Most respondents did not answer this question.
Sitting Yes – 4 respondents
100% of time – 6
95% to 99% of time 7
80% to 94% of time 3
75% of time 1
20% 1
What is it about these work tasks that contributes to your discomfort?
NOTE: The language used as responses to the questions in the survey reflect as close as feasible the words used by the respondents.
(# within brackets ) in the following report refers to the number of respondents indicating that this factor contributed to their work related body discomfort. If no number is provided then one response can be inferred.
Body mechanics issues as identified by respondents in this survey:
Þlifting (9), pushing (6) of heavy parcels (15) especially when feeding (8) as workers bend to pick up parcels from the monos (6).
Þawkward reaching / grabbing / dragging parcels to coder (4) as well as awkward reaching / pushing backward from the coder (8).
Þbending to place parcels into monos (3) and bending when placing parcels on to lowest racks (2).
Space issues as identified by respondents in this survey:
System should have more room – it’s very cramped (3) When heavy parcels must be loaded – there is a high potential for injury. The racks are too close together – especially on lane one. The loops are extremely cramped together and its hard to maneuver parcels on racks.
Work organization issues as identified by respondents in this survey:
One respondent described in detail many inter-related suggestions on ways to improve the flow of the work as workers grow to work more as a team. (This extensive note has been typed and provided as an enclosure with this report).
The data gathered from this survey suggests that the main concern for most of the workers who responded to this survey is the physical demands of lifting and moving heavy parcels over many hours.
General comments from respondents in this survey that have not been included in the previous categories:
Þnot properly designed coding equipment
Þ not properly designed work area
Þfloor causes LRT to bounce when portering
Þfans blowing on you when working
How would you change your work to make it easier, safer, and more comfortable for you to work?
Weight of parcels:
Less weight of the boxes
Study how to improve the transportation of heavy loads.
Provide a lift or carrier to help in moving heavy loads.
Avoid lifting heavy parcels (2) when you bend, reach and feed
Reduce pushing by:
Better set-up at coding stations Use a different system for pushing the parcels to the coders (2). Install moving belts similar to what is used at Supermarket checkouts to move parcels to next person when coding at the keying stations (2) or get some motorized rollers instead of pushing manually. If workers had a foot pedal then the workers could control the flow of parcels coming in (2).
Work environment:
Improve the quality of the mats to make constant walking less hard on feet and legs
Better desks
Chairs are good but very heavy
Increase space
Level floor in feeding area so 50 LRT does not have to climb up to belt (tiller arm on LRT jerks).
It is up to management to design the work area (2)
Pace and rotation:
Reduce time in areas by having shorter rotations
Rotation of workers and sitting between the work duties
Working a little slower to make it so you don’t have to twist your body so much Not push myself to do the heavy parcels
Do you have any other comments or suggestions that you would like to make?
I am encouraged that Canada Post has begun this undertaking with your agency so hopefully improvements will be implemented.
The system was set up so fast that little was taken into consideration for the health and comfort of workers
Make the work area a better place to work with – design for the 21th century
Thank-you for having your presence known
Summary:
Respondents to the discomfort survey attributed work related discomfort or pain most often to the following body parts: lower back, elbows, shoulders, upper back, neck, forearms, wrists/hands, and knees.
Feeding as well as sorting packages to monos in lane 4 were cited by respondents in this survey to be the work tasks that they thought contributed most to their work-related discomfort. In particular, the lifting and pushing of heavy parcels especially during the task of feeding as workers bend to pick up parcels from the monos was cited as the main contributor to work-related discomfort.
However, awkward reaching, grabbing and dragging of parcels to the coder and especially the awkward reaching and pushing backward from the coder was also considered to be a significant contributor to work-related discomfort by respondents to the survey.
The data gathered from this discomfort survey suggests that the overriding factor that contributes to most of the work-related discomfort and pain for the workers that responded to this survey is the cumulative physical demands of lifting and moving heavy parcels over many hours each workday.
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