Track: Case Studies

Abstract

Roll-on-roll-off (RoRo) ships are one of the most successful marine vessels operating today because of the flexibility, ability to integrate with other transport systems, and speed of operation. Studies have shown that seafarers suffer from Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) caused by prolonged shifts with improper body postures and that working in the short sea sector such as RoRo operations has been found to cause more fatigue due to more port calls which increases the workload. The purpose of this paper is to conduct an ergonomic assessment on the tasks performed by RoRo ship workers during the docking, undocking, and lashing process as well as identify the factors that contribute to high ergonomic risk levels and recommend necessary ergonomic interventions to prevent workers from acquiring MSDs. The researchers used various ergonomic assessment tools such as the REBA, CMDQ, and NIOSH to measure the risk levels and applied statistical analysis tools such as regression, correlation, and ANOVA to identify the factors that have a significant effect on the CMDQ scores. The researchers were able to calculate high-risk levels on the different postures associated with the tasks performed by the workers and identified that age and company were the variables that significantly affected the CMDQ scores. Necessary ergonomic interventions were recommended to lower the risk levels and prevent the roll-on-roll-off ship workers from potentially acquiring Musculoskeletal Disorders.