To spread the fish on the conveyor, workers have to reach forward with their arms above waist level. They use the same movements over and over. Prolonged standing in a stooped position, repetitious reaching forward and twisting of the body put workers at high risk for low back injury. Figure 1 - Spreading Working with arms elevated above the waist level, and having no control over the pace of work pose a considerable risk for injuries of the neck, shoulder and arms. Standing on a hard floor and having limited flexibility of body posture can cause lower leg discomfort.
Packaging is done while standing.
The packaging job poses the risk for repetitive motion injuries because of improper layout of the work station, the fast pace of work and the design of the task that does not allow workers to change activities throughout the work shift. Restricted flexibility of body positions, highly repetitive movements of both arms above the waist level and repetitious reaching sideways and forward put workers at high risk for injuries of the neck, shoulders and upper arms. Figure 3 - Packaging Prolonged standing, restricted flexibility of body position and repetitious twisting pose a risk for low back pain and lower leg discomfort. The wrapping of boxes is carried out by two workers using two sealing machines. The task lasts approximately five seconds and is carried out while standing.