Effect of workstation design on posture during manual task in animal house worker

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of workstation design on the human posture during manual task in animal house workers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Daily jobs of animal house workers include several types of manual task that require lifting. However, there were some complaints about the neck, shoulder and low back pains in animal house workers. In this study, the height and the weight of lifting tasks in animal house was studied. To examine the effect of lifting height and weight in the animal house workstation on the posture of animal house workers, a workstation simulation environment was established in the laboratory. Subjects performed the job in laboratory were video filmed. Video materials were then digitized and analysed using motion analysis system. Several body joint angles were selected as variables for posture analysis. Two-way ANOVA was employed to examine the effects of height and weight of lifting object on the subject's posture. Statistical analysis showed that the main effect on the posture was the lifting height. The lifting weight did not significantly affect the lifting posture in animal house workers.