The team’s goal is to convert unsafe, forceful, repetitive work practices into safe, mechanized systems or reduce the amount of lifting effort required by employees.

To begin with, high risk departments and practices are identified by post-injury evaluations and accident investigations as well as through statistical analysis of injury claims. The entire team then makes a site visit to assess equipment and practices. If new systems are in order, design and prototype fabrication of new products are developed by the Biological and Agricultural Engineering department. After a thorough feasibility review, the product is then introduced for a trial period and monitored closely so the design can be modified and finalized.

Examples of workplace safety projects addressed by this team include:

Student Housing

Problem: Trash chutes that funnel refuse from some of the campus’s three-story dormitories into small trash bins, in areas where higher-capacity wheeled dumpsters do not fit. The result was frequent trash back-ups in the chute, and the need for a person to physically hold the chute’s canvas sides closed and to one side while deftly situating a new bin under it. This precarious maneuver was repeated several times a day to empty accumulated trash, creating a risk for shoulder and low back strain.

Solution: Working with Occupational Health, the OBL group created a mechanism to stop the flow of trash – a simple mechanical clamp that squeezes the canvas sides of the chute closed while Housing staff change the collection bins.

Feed Lot/Feed Mill

Problem: Opening and closing the Animal Science grain feed mill requires 132 lbs of effort, using a manual lever situated about 60 inches from the floor. The process had the potential to cause joint strain.

Solution: After measuring and analyzing the mill’s linkage and levers, the engineering team identified minor modifications that could be made, including replacing the release lever with a custom-designed electric motor control and gear assembly. The new device, which will eliminate strain on employees’ hands, elbows and shoulders, is being fabricated in the engineering department shop.

Solid Waste Management

Problem: The height of dumpsters and lids which need to be either held open with one hand or completely flipped open, and not always shut thereafter. The repetitive task of opening the lids to drop off solid waste bags created strains on employee hands, arms, elbows and shoulder joint muscles, and could contribute to sanitation concerns. 

Solution:  Re-design the dumpster height and fabricate a lid opening device attached to the side of the bin that holds the bin open. Employees could then avoid higher reaches to place trash bags in the bin and would only need to use one hand to hold the bin lid up. The new design height is 39 versus the previous 55 to 57 inches.

The new design calls for fabrication and replacement of a large number of the existing higher profile bins on campus. Facilities will purchase these bins using “Be Smart About Safety” funding. Bioengineering students in the EBS 170 Engineering Project class are finalizing their dumpster lid lifting project to fabricate the prototype device for securely holding up the lid and rigidly attaching to the front or side of the bin.

A Busy Future for the Team

The ergonomic and biomechanics team has also completed projects on design and selection of new tools and examination equipment for CAHFS necropsy. They are also working on a better design for equipment used in outdoor cage cleaning, re-designing the anesthesia carts at VMTH, and hay bale handling equipment selection for the Center for Equine Health. The team has provided re-design expertise on a battery lifting device for Fleet Services, hazardous material and waste collection carts for EH&S, audio/visual equipment carts for Mediaworks, and plant tables for the Arboretum.

For more information about the ergonomic and biomechanical team or the Be Smart About Safety program, contact Bob Wachter via email at rawachter@ucdavis.edu.