Analysis of the Use of Ergonomic Trolley on Musculoskeletal

Complaints on Worker Transporting Gallons of Water and LPG 12Kg

I Gede Santosa

and Ni Kadek Muliati

Mechanical Engineering Department, Politeknik Negeri Bali, Indonesia

Keywords: Trolley, Musculoskeletal, Fatigue.

Abstract: Everyday, the use of water and gas is very important for human life, especially drinking water and LPG gas.

As time goes by, the need for drinking water and LPG gas is increasing every day, because people are aware

of their health and desire to live a more practical life. With the increasing demand for drinking water and LPG

gas, many drinking water and LPG gas companies are packaged with large capacities. such as gallon water

with a capacity of 19 liters and LPG gas measuring 12 kg. If the weight of gallon water reaches 19kg and

12kg LPG gas reaches 27kg, this can cause workers to be tired and overwhelmed to serve consumers.

Moreover, consumers live on the 2nd floor apartment which must still be served. Lifting workers in general,

lift gallons of water and 12kg LPG gas using their hands and carry them and the work is done repeatedly, this

can cause muscle injuries, especially in the wrists, elbows and shoulders. In addition, the time used is

relatively long due to the limitations of workers who can only carry 1 gallon or 1 piece of 12 kg LPG gas,

especially customers with long haul-haul distances, which require workers to carry them without any tools.

As a solution to these problems, an ergonomically designed trolley was made so that the lifting and transport

workers could work in a healthy, safe and comfortable manner. In this study, a 12kg LPG gas carrier and 2

gallons of water will be designed and continued by analyzing the use of these tools for workers in terms of

musculoskeletal muscle complaints and fatigue levels. Specifications This trolley has been ergonomically

designed that has been adapted to the anthropometry of the worker's body and is capable of transporting 2

gallons of aqua or 2 12 kg LPG gas. The trolley design results with dimensions: 70 cm wide and 140 cm high

with a weight of 60 kg, quite simple to move around The results of testing and analysis of musculoskeletal

complaints and fatigue levels were obtained that: The average musculoskeletal complaints of workers before

working using a trolley was 44.02 (±2.56) and the average musculoskeletal complaint after working using a

trolley was 33.04 (±4.17) which means there is a decrease in musculoskeletal complaints by 24.9%. The

average level of fatigue of workers before working using a trolley is 44.11 (±2.17) and the average level of

fatigue after working using a trolley is 33.03 (±3.22) which means there is a decrease in the level of fatigue

by 25.1%.

1 INTRODUCTION

Everyday life, the use of water and gas is very

important for human life, especially drinking water

and LPG gas. As time goes by, the need for drinking

water and LPG gas is increasing every day, because

people are aware of their health and desire to live

more practically. With the increasing demand for

drinking water and LPG gas, many drinking water

and LPG gas companies are packaged with large

capacities such as gallon water with a capacity of 19

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5445-804X

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7053-6690

liters and LPG gas measuring 12 kg. If the weight of

gallon water reaches 19kg and 12kg LPG gas reaches

27kg, this can cause workers to be tired and

overwhelmed to serve consumers.

Lifting workers in general, lift gallons of water

and 12kg LPG gas using their hands and carry them

and the work is done repeatedly, this can cause

muscle injuries, especially in the wrists, elbows and

shoulders. In addition, the time used is relatively long

due to the limitations of workers who can only carry

1 gallon or 1 piece of 12 kg LPG gas, especially

Santosa, I. and Muliati, N.

Analysis of the Use of Ergonomic Trolley on Musculoskeletal Complaints on Worker Transporting Gallons of Water and LPG 12Kg.

DOI: 10.5220/0010939800003260

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Applied Science and Technology on Engineering Science (iCAST-ES 2021), pages 55-59

ISBN: 978-989-758-615-6; ISSN: 2975-8246

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

customers with long haul-haul distances, which

require workers to carry them without any tools.

As a solution to this problem, an ergonomically

designed trolley was made so that the lifting and

transport workers could work in a healthy, safe and

comfortable manner. In this study, a 12kg LPG gas

carrier and 2 gallons of water will be designed and

continued by analyzing the use of these tools for

workers in terms of musculoskeletal muscle

complaints and fatigue levels. Lifting workers in

general, lift gallons of water and 12kg LPG gas using

their hands and carry them and the work is done

repeatedly, this can cause muscle injuries, especially

in the wrists, elbows and shoulders. In addition, the

time used is relatively long due to the limitations of

workers who can only carry 1 gallon or 1 piece of 12

kg LPG gas, especially customers with long haul-haul

distances, which require workers to carry them

without any tools.

The main problems of the work process using

muscles and working time are long enough to cause

an increase in musculoskeletal complaints and fatigue

and an increase in workload which in turn reduces

work productivity, increases fuel costs and longer

working time. Adiputra (2000) said that through

ergonomic intervention in small-scale industries

using ergonomic work equipment will reduce

workload and subjective complaints significantly

thereby increasing productivity. Several alternative

solutions to the problems above through an

ergonomic approach are: designing ergonomic work

tools is expected to reduce musculoskeletal

complaints and fatigue levels, so as to increase

worker productivity (Manuaba, 2000; Khroemer and

Grandjean, 2009).

2 METHOD

2.1 Research Design

This research is a one-short case study with a pre and

post-test design group which was conducted

observationally on the working process of lifting

gallons [5]. Chart can be described as follows:

R P0 PI

Figure 1: Research Design.

Information:

R = Random sample.

P0= the result of the pre-test experimental unit.

PI = the result of the post-test experimental unit.

2.2 Research Variable

The variables to be measured in this study include: (1)

musculoskeletal disorders before and after work by

filling nordic body map questionnaire; (2) work

fatigue before and after work by filling out the 30

fatigues rating questionnaire. The initial condition

information data and the final condition were then

compared to find out the comparison before using the

trolley by manual lifting.

2.3 Data Analysis

The trolley design data is calculated based on the

routine work activities of workers when lifting

gallons of water or LPG gas to. Test data before the

use of the trolley and after the use of the trolley

includes data on musculoskeletal complaints and data

on worker fatigue and working time which will then

be analyzed descriptively to obtain conclusions.

3 RESULT AND OUTCOME

3.1 Lifting Gallons and LPG Gas

Manually

Based on the results of interviews with workers lifting

and transporting Aqua gallons and 12 Kg LPG gas,

they work for 8 hours, from 08.00 WITA to 17.00

WITA with 1 hour rest time. With an average lifting

distance of up to 800 meters to lift an average of 150

gallons, either to stalls/shops or to consumers' homes

and there are also some consumers who live on the

2nd floor, so they have to climb up to 46 stairs for a

4-storey house. 2 by carrying 8 gallons. From this

work, the labor market often complains of pain in the

wrist and waist

To overcome this problem, workers are advised to

use a trolley as a work aid. The use of this trolley is

quite easy, safe and comfortable. By positioning the

trolley standing and workers can put 2 gallons of

water or LPG gas. Furthermore, the gallon of water or

LPG gas is tied up for safety, after that it is laid down

to be pulled with light power to the consumer.

iCAST-ES 2021 - International Conference on Applied Science and Technology on Engineering Science

Figure 1: Body position lifting gallons.

Figure 2: Body position lifting LPG 12 kg.

If the muscles receive static loads repeatedly over a

long period of time, it can cause complaints in the

form of damage to joints, ligaments, and tendons.

These complaints are usually referred to as

musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) or injuries to the

musculoskeletal system (Kroemer and Grandjean,

2009). Based on recommendations from the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

(OSHA), ergonomic measures to prevent disease

sources are in two ways, namely engineering

engineering through the design of work stations and

tools and management engineering through work

criteria and organization (Corlet, 2005; Rusdiyantoro,

2011).

3.2 Trolley Design Model

An effort to create a safe and comfortable working

condition, it is necessary to have good interaction

from the three components mentioned above, namely

humans, machines, and the work environment. In

ergonomics, humans are the most important

component that must be considered with all the

limitations it has. In other words, the demands of

work tasks should not be too low (underload) and

should not be too excessive (overload) because both

will cause stress (Suma’mur, 2003). A good design

can be produced by recognizing the characteristics,

limitations, and abilities of humans. Humans play a

central role in their activities, namely as planners,

designers, implementers, and evaluators in every

activity (work). Humans as a source of labor are still

dominant in carrying out the production process,

especially activities that are repetitive. Ergonomically

designed equipment needs to be carried out based on

ergonomic principles (Santosa, IG., Susana, IGB.,

2021; Yusuf, M., 2014; ).

Stone tools such as trolleys should be designed to

be easy and practical to use. Basically, in making this

tool, it aims to simplify the work process of the

workers. The product of this trolley design is

expected to improve the health and work

effectiveness of the workers themselves.

1. Iron Pipe 3. Trolley Tires

2. Iron Strip 4. Axle

Figure 3: Trolley Design.

Analysis of the Use of Ergonomic Trolley on Musculoskeletal Complaints on Worker Transporting Gallons of Water and LPG 12Kg

3.3 The Result of Ergonomics Test

using Trolley

a. Musculoskeletal Complaint

Every human being works, regardless of the type of

work done, the muscles of the body will definitely

contract and relax alternately (Rolles, et.al., 2009).

This occurs as a result of the activity of the limbs in

maintaining a stable body position, or certain

movements in carrying out tasks. The more

movements that are contrary to physiological rules

are carried out, the more energy is used (Torik, at.al.,

2009). The more the attitude of the body against the

neutral stance of the body the more the muscles work.

Likewise, if the body is increasingly fixed in a

working position in a certain work position, the

longer certain muscle groups will contract. Moreover,

if it is done repeatedly, it will result in muscle fatigue

(Tarwaka, 2010). This form of muscle fatigue is

accompanied by a sensation of pain or in the muscles.

All of which can be detected in the form of complaints

in the muscles. Which type of muscle is affected

depends on the severity of the task, and the monotony

of the movement.

Data on musculoskeletal complaints were obtained

subjectively from filling out the Nordic body map

questionnaire using a 4 Likert scale. The craftsman

will cross the available numbers from 0 - 27 according

to the complaints they feel. Before testing the effect of

using a trolley, the data obtained were tested with a

normality test. Based on the normality test with

Shapiro Wilk, the results are as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Data on Musculoskeletal Complaints After Work

Between Before and After using Trolley (n=5).

Description

Lifting Water or gas

manually

Use Trolley

Mea

SD p Mean SD p

Complaint

Musculoske

letal pos

44,02 2,56 0,145 33,04 4,17 0,092 0,001

Notes: SD = Standard deviation, p = Significance for

normality, p* = Significance for comparability

b. Fatigue

The term fatigue usually indicates a different

condition for each individual, but all of them lead to a

loss of efficiency and a decrease in work capacity and

endurance (Suarbawa, IKGJ and M Yusuf, 2021;

Bridger, 2005) state that general fatigue is a condition

that is reflected in symptoms of psychological changes

in the form of sluggish motor activity and respiration,

feelings of pain, heaviness in the eyeballs, weakened

motivation, decreased activity that will affect physical

and mental activity. Fatigue consists of muscle fatigue

and general fatigues. Muscle fatigue is a symptom of

extreme pain when the muscles suffer from excessive

tension, while general fatigue is a stage marked by a

sense of reduced readiness to use energy (Kimberly,

2011) suggests that in general the symptoms of fatigue

can start from being very mild to feeling very tired.

General fatigue usually occurs at the end of working

hours, when the average workload exceeds 30-40% of

maximum aerobic power.

Table 2:Worker fatigue Data After Work (n=5).

Lifting Water or gas

manually

Use Trolley

Mean SD P Mean SD p

Fatigue

(post-test)

44,11 2,17 0,178 33,03 3,22 0,334

0,001

Notes: SD = Standard deviation, p = Significance for

normality, p* = Significance for comparability

4 CONCLUSIONS

Based on the discussion that has been carried out, the

following conclusions can be conveyed:

1. The work attitude of workers who have to rely on

the waist and wrist muscles causes an increase in

musculoskeletal complaints and complaints of

fatigue due to a monotonous or repetitive work

attitude.

2. The result of designing a trolley with dimensions:

70 cm wide and 140 cm high with a weight of 60

kg, quite simple to move around

3. The results of testing and analysis of

musculoskeletal complaints and levels of fatigue

are obtained that:

a. The mean musculoskeletal complaints from

workers before working using the trolley was

44.02 (±2.56) and the mean musculoskeletal

complaints after working using the trolley was

33.04 (±4.17) which means there was a

decrease in musculoskeletal complaints by

24.9%

b. The average level of fatigue of workers before

working using a trolley is 44.11 (±2.17) and

the average level of fatigue after working

using a trolley is 33.03 (±3.22) which means

there is a decrease in the level of fatigue by

25.1%.

iCAST-ES 2021 - International Conference on Applied Science and Technology on Engineering Science

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the department of

research and community service center Bali State

Polytechnic and the Ministry Of Education and

Culture of Indonesia for the financing of this research.

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Analysis of the Use of Ergonomic Trolley on Musculoskeletal Complaints on Worker Transporting Gallons of Water and LPG 12Kg