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Manual handling of highway kerbs—focus group findings
journal contribution
posted on 2010-02-16, 15:18 authored by Phil Bust, Alistair Gibb, Roger HaslamThe manual handling of concrete highway kerbs remains commonplace in the
construction industry despite obvious risks to operatives. A study was commissioned
to find out why the operation still includes manual handling, what alternatives exist
and how the organisation of the work affects exposure to risk. Although this study
involved a literature review and visits to examine manufacture, supply and installation
of kerbs, the focus groups which were held with industry professionals to discuss
manufacture, installation methods, design and training are reported here. Related
published research was very limited and the visits confirmed manual handling to be
widespread for installation but eliminated or controlled in other areas of the process.
Risks to health of construction workers remained as they were not considered in the
design of the product, design of the work or identified and controlled through risk
assessments. Focus group findings highlighted manufacturer’s myopia, lack of
installation knowledge of designers and shortfalls in training of installation work.
Recommendations from the research are that a pro-active approach to health needs to
be adopted by the manufacturers of heavy construction products. Designers of work
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requiring the use of heavy products need to have more experience of site operations,
and training of manual handling awareness should be performed at all levels in
construction organisations.
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Citation
BUST, P.D., GIBB, A.G.F. and HASLAM, R., 2005. Manual handling of highway kerbs—focus group findings. Applied Ergonomics, 36(4), pp. 417-425Publisher
© ElsevierVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publication date
2005Notes
This article was accepted for publication in the journal, Applied ergonomics [© Elsevier], which is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2004.05.005ISSN
0003-6870Language
- en