title: Work stress of women in sewing machine operation.
abstract: The study examined the work stresses of 107 women who were engaged in sewing machine operation in small garment manufacturing units. Of the three types of sewing machines (motor-operated, full and half shuttle foot-operated), 74% of the machines were foot-operated, where throttle action of the lower limb is required to move the shuttle of the machine. The motor-operated machines were faster than the foot-operated machines. The short cycle sewing work involves repetitive action of hand and feet. The women had to maintain a constant seated position on a stool without backrest and the body inclined forward. Long-term sewing work had a cumulative load on the musculo-skeletal structures, including the vertebral column and reflected in the form of high prevalence of discomfort and pain in different body parts. About 68% of the women complained of back pain, among whom 35% reported a persistent low back pain. Common sewing work accident is piercing of the needle through the fingers, particularly the right forefingers. Unsatisfactory man-machine incompatibility, work posture and fatigue, improper coordination of eye, leg and hand are the major problems of the operators. The design mis-match of the work place may be significantly improved by taking women's anthropometric dimensions in modifying the workplace, i.e. the seat surface, seat height, work height, backrest, etc.
authors: Ergonomics Division, National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad, India.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Nag
authors: H
authors: H
authors: Desai
authors: P K
authors: PK
authors: Nag
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D011187:Posture; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013783:Textile Industry; D013997:Time Factors