Workload assessment in building construction related activities in India.

A field study was conducted to highlight the occupational risk factors related to building construction activities in India among female workers. These workers were engaged in eight different types of activities and related work parameters were studied in detail. From field environmental parameters, the calculated WBGT was obtained as 30.26+/-1.52 degrees C, indicated that these workers worked under a positive heat load condition. Whole day work study was conducted on 11 adult female workers performing concreting operation. They were having age of 28-32 years with 5-7 years of work experience. These workers were mainly performing two types of operations in the field: (A) asymmetric lifting during concreting a boundary wall formwork of a lift unit and (B) carrying the concrete mixture. During asymmetric lifting, the average field working heart rate (HR) was calculated as 124.1+/-12.5 beats min(-1), equivalent to 45.03+/-6.93% of VO(2) max level. These working heart rates (HRs) were significantly (p<or=0.005) correlated with pause time (P.T.) and lifting frequency, but not with lifting time. A method was proposed to determine the average steady P.T. from fluctuating working HR and the lifting frequency was calculated as 6.1 lifts min(-1). This type of load handling task showed lower work efficiency and higher relative HR (%RHR). The required resting time was calculated as 61.47%, whereas the actual rest time (R.T.) in the field was 23.56+/-10.28%. Using Neibel and Frivalds equation, the rest allowance (RA) due to muscular fatigue and environmental load were calculated as 50.46% and 45.02 min/h, respectively. These results showed that the workers were not getting sufficient rest in the field. With work parameter modification, in optimum condition, the RWL value could be achieved as 7.19 kg, which was much lesser than the actual lifted load of 12.02 kg. Therefore, modification of workplace and work methods was suggested to compensate the health hazard conditions.