Ergonomic analysis with emphasis on thermography in a system of exploration and processing of tropical forest wood
Name: DENISE RANSOLIN SORANSO
Publication date: 19/02/2019
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| WANDERSON LYRIO BERMUDES | External Examiner * |
Summary: SORANSO, D. R. Ergonomic analysis with emphasis on thermography in a system of exploration and processing of tropical forest wood. 2019. Thesis (PhD in Forest Sciences) - Federal University of Espírito Santo, Jerônimo Monteiro - ES. Advisor: Dr. Prof. Luciano José Minette. Coorientators: Prof. PhD. Amaury Paulo de Souza e Prof. Dr. Márcio Alves Marçal
In the commercialization of the wood from the forest management areas, the consumer center has demanded that the raw material sold be forest certified as a guarantee that the product is from an area that meets the legal requirements of exploration, among them, those related to health and safety of workers are met. For the improvement of the working conditions, it is essential to apply the ergonomic analysis, in order to identify situations that can cause damages to the health and physical integrity of the workers, among the methods that can be applied to achieve this purpose in an ergonomic analysis, it is mentioned the thermography. In view of the above, the objective of this research was to perform the ergonomic analysis, with emphasis on the use of thermography, in a system for the exploration and processing of tropical forest wood in the North of the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. To reach the proposed objectives, this study was divided into two chapters. The first chapter refers to the application of an ergonomic analysis in the activities of logging and the wood processing industry. The profile of the workers was initially characterized with the application of questionnaires. Subsequently the evaluation of the occupational exposure of the workers to the heat, followed by the analysis of the physical risks, noise and vibration. Finally, the biomechanical conditions, the risk of repetitive strain injury, and musculoskeletal disorders related to work and physical workload were evaluated. In the ergonomic analysis of the work it was verified that the workers have a degree of education, are not submitted to training and that the working conditions are a favorable scenario for the occurrence of accidents. The assessment of occupational exposure to heat and the qualitative analysis of noise and vibration demonstrated the need for the donation of control measures. With regard to the job position, the activities provided a high physical workload, high risk for the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and spinal injuries, indicating the need for the adoption of immediate ergonomic measures at work. The second chapter aimed to evaluate the conditions of the posterior region of the trunk of workers in the wood processing industry in tropical forest regions in the North of the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The evaluation of the use of thermography was conducted with the evaluation of nine workers from the wood processing industry and eight subjects belonging to a group called "control", composed of subjects who did not develop physically heavy activities. With the group of workers, the evaluations were carried out before the beginning of the working day on Monday and Friday, to verify if the accumulation of days worked would provide a differentiation in the obtained images. And in the control group, this evaluation was performed only on Monday, in order to obtain a "normal" temperature pattern of the body regions evaluated. The results showed that the mean values of the workers evaluated in situation I differed significantly in relation to the control group. In the evaluation of the accumulation of days worked and less time for recovery in relation to the period of longer rest time there were no significant differences in the thermal patterns obtained. The qualitative analysis evidenced a greater range of occupancy of thermal patterns with high temperature in the body region of interest of the workers in both evaluated situations. In general, the results indicate the need for an accurate examination in order to verify if the development of wood processing operations contribute to the appearance of musculoskeletal dysfunctions in workers.
Key words: Forest management, working conditions, ergonomics, thermographic images.
