ANTHROPOMETRY OF WORKERS IN A SALT INDUSTRY COMPANY IN SOUTHERN SONORA

Abstract

Anthropometry is the discipline in charge of systematically collecting and measuring the human body's physical characteristics, mainly the body's weight, size, and shape. As a tool of Ergonomics, this discipline allows to adapt the environment to people through the design or redesign of workstations, considering the anthropometric charts. In 2023, the company under study in the salt industry recorded that 38% of occupational diseases present in employees in the operational area are related to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). As a result of the incidence of occupational diseases, an ergonomic risk assessment was carried out, identifying ergonomic risks in the different processes, such as inadequate postures, load handling, and task repetitiveness, which have caused health problems in the back, shoulders, and hands. MSDs are due to the dysergonomic designs present in the production processes, the lack of workers' anthropometric data for the design and redesign of workstations, and the scarcity and validity of anthropometric data in the region. The objective was to design anthropometric charts of the workers in the operational area of the salt company to obtain an accurate database to support the company in the design or redesign of tools, equipment, and workstations. The proposed methodology consists of 5 steps: 1) define the dimensions to be measured, 2) inform the workers, 3) perform the measurement of the workers, 4) analyze the data, and 5) design the anthropometric charts. As a result, 51 anthropometric measurements were established, 63 workers were measured, and an anthropometric chart of the personnel in the operational area was prepared, including the 5%, 50%, and 95% percentile. The objective of the research was achieved since the anthropometric chart of the workers in the operative area was obtained. The anthropometric chart not only contributes to the improvement of working conditions within the company but also lays the groundwork for future research in the field of ergonomics, benefiting users interested in designing more