Ergonomic Cost of Mud Plastering of House and Improved Technique to Reduce the Same

The present study was undertaken to work out the ergonomic cost of mud plastering of the house and the impact of improved techniques on the reduction of ergonomic cost of performing the activity. Sixty rural women who were in good state of health were involved in the experiment. The activity of mud plastering of the house was first performed with the traditional way in the sitting cum squatting posture and then the same activity was performed with wiper, which is normally used for cleaning the cemented floor. Heart rate of the women was recorded during the entire activity at an interval of 5 min. each with the help of Polar Heart Rate Monitor. Rated perceived exertion (RPE) was measured on 5 point scale viz., 1 for very mild and 5 for severe body pain. Total cardiac cost of work, physiological cost of work and energy expenditure were calculated from the values of the heart rate. Results of the study showed that the heart rate and energy expenditure were very high and above the acceptable limits of the women leading to severe stress and strain and thus severe fatigue to the women workers. Total cardiac cost of work and the physiological cost of the activity was also found high and the RPE scores were found above 3 indicating that the women perceived this activity as moderately tiring and drudgery prone. The use of wiper for the selected activity brought positive results. The use of wiper for mud plastering of house was found effective and brought significant reduction in all the selected ergonomic parameters. However, maximum reduction was found in the muscular pain of the body due to the improved posture adopted by the women with the use of wiper. Therefore the use of wiper was recommended for the mud plastering of the house to the rural women.