A Kinematics Study Part1: Hand and Finger Movements During Typical Cleaning Activities
Initial research by the authors using an online survey of over six hundred participants analysing what (if any) activities lead to discomfort, particularly in the hand, showed that cleaning tasks and in particular, mopping, sweeping and hoovering led to higher levels of hand discomfort than other AD...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
2010
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/5322/1/A_Kinematics_Studies_Part1-_Hand_and_Finger_Movement_During_Typical_Cleaning_Activities.pdf http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/5322/ |
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| Summary: | Initial research by the authors using an online survey of over six hundred participants analysing what (if any) activities lead to discomfort, particularly in the hand, showed that cleaning tasks and in particular, mopping, sweeping and hoovering led to higher levels of hand discomfort than other ADL's [1]. Activities of Daily Living (ADL's) such as cleaning, hoovering, mopping, and so on have had little or no previous research undertaken on them. In 2005, Tresea et al., examined the prevalence of work related injury and explored barriers to, and experienced of, reporting them amongst workers. The results showed that over one year, three quarters of the workers studied experienced work-related pain. With reference to the above study, the authors defined two categories of cleaning activity, termed heavy work and light work. ‘Heavy’ work was characterized by neutral postures, walking, repetitive movements involving the articulations of the upper limb pushing a 1-6 kg (wet or dry) mop, with occasional more intense effort. ‘Light’ work was characterized by flexed postures, walking, rapid repetitive movements involving the articulations of the upper limb and the movement of light weights (dusting) or 1-3 kg weights (emptying wastebaskets), with more occasional intense effort.
It was proposed to study the process of using cleaning equipment such as a mop, brush and hoover and ascertain what factors may lead to discomfort particularly in the hand. To that end twenty cleaning professionals were interviewed, videoed and photographed undertaking their normal daily tasks. Further, their hand grip and posture was measured using Tekscan thin-film force sensors and motion capture analysis.
The results from this study found that the hand size is one of the likely factors why the distribution area on force at the hand and finger for all cleaners shows a significant difference. The hand and finger movement is related with the higher grip force. The smaller hand size shows a lower force when compared with the larger hand size. The hand and finger movement for all participants was seen to be different depending on the grip style and the movement of the finger. The hand and finger movement for forward, backward, left and right shows a different grip force with the grip force being higher when hand and finger motion is forward, for example. Further, hoovering under the table, chair and corner shows a higher force and finger movement when compared with hoovering at the lobby.
This paper outlines these results and proposes further work with the ultimate aim of providing suitable insight for the redesign of cleaning tasks and equipment to reduce instances of discomfort and illness.
Keyword: ADLs (Activities Daily Living), grip force, hand and finger motion
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