WCSE

Musculoskeletal Symptoms and Posture Analysis of Reach Truck Operators

Abstract— Warehouse operations typically involve tasks that require great physical strength and power in order to move heavy loads from one point to another. However, this is not always the case as there are industrial vehicles that are of great help in order to perform certain tasks faster and with little effort. One of these is a reach truck, a type of forklift, which is the focus of this study. By conducting a survey using CMDQ, ratings were evaluated in order to determine the most prevalent musculoskeletal symptoms among reach truck operators. Body discomfort is most prevalent in the upper back, followed by the shoulders, neck, and lower back. Meanwhile, the posture analysis using REBA and RULA suggested that there is a medium to a high level of risk to the human body, further investigation is needed, and ergonomic intervention must be undertaken soon. This study reveals the need to re-evaluate the industrial vehicle’s design or reconsider using alternatives.

Index Terms— reach truck, warehouse, musculoskeletal symptoms, rapid upper limb assessment, rapid entire body assessment.

Jeremy Castro Elias
School of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, Mapua University, Philippines
Yogi Tri Prasetyo
School of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, Mapua University, Philippines
Thanatorn Chuenyindee
Department of Industrial Engineering and Aviation Management, Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Air Force Academy, Thailand
Satria Fadil Persada
Entrepreneurship Department, Bina Nusantara University, Indonesia

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Cite: Jeremy Castro Elias, Yogi Tri Prasetyo, Thanatorn Chuenyindee, Satria Fadil Persada, " Musculoskeletal Symptoms and Posture Analysis of Reach Truck Operators, " WCSE 2022 Spring Event: 2022 9th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Applications, pp. 1187-1193, Sanya, China, April 15-18, 2022.