N.C. State studying ways to reduce factory injuries
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 14, 2002
RALEIGH, N.C. — Researchers at North Carolina State University have begun developing new tools and work methods designed to reduce the risk of on-the-job injuries in furniture manufacturing.
Gary A. Mirka, associate professor of industrial engineering, is working with the Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center on campus to study ways to keep workers healthy.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfatal workplace injuries in private industry accounted for about 1.7 million missed days of work in 1999. There were more than 5.7 million work-related injuries that year, with close to one-half million involving back injuries.
After observing the processes and equipment used in the furniture industry, Mirka and his graduate students began developing tools and work methods designed to reduce a worker's exposure to risk factors for various kinds of injuries. Injuries were often related to heavy lifting, poor posture or repetition.
One device the team developed is an adjustable table that allows an upholstery worker to reduce back strain caused by repeatedly bending into an awkward position. Using a pneumatic system like that in a dentist's chair, the table moves up or down to allow the worker to vary the position of the sofa frame.
Another project was to improve the use of a random orbital sander. To use this tool, the worker must grip the head of the sander in a configuration that is hard on the wrist and finger tendons. Mirka's team designed a Velcro glove-and-harness system that allows the operator to relax the hand while working.
The team also is evaluating a design for a finish spray gun that has two alternate grips, depending on whether the user is spraying a vertical or horizontal surface.
Mirka is in the third year of a project funded by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
"My goal is to give the most promising tools to workers for five years and see how that has an impact on their comfort levels and productivity over the long run," he said. "This will be the subject of future research."
| A glove-and-harness system allows a worker to operate a sander with a relaxed hand, avoiding tendon strain. |
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