Ergonomic Risk Assessment of LPG Hose Handling Process at a Gantry Operation: A Basis for Administrative and Engineering Improvement

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) is one of the longest-running fuel businesses in the Philippines, serving the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. The import facility operates 24/7, ensuring the completion of loading and discharging operations. The gantry operators are involved in lifting the heavy LPG hoses and exerting forcefully with their hands to refill the flammable truck. It is necessary to assess them to determine their level of suffering, given the hours and days they consumed to accommodate the product's demands. Given these conditions, the paper aims to assess the current design of the gantry station to determine the factors that affect the discomfort of the operators. In this study, the current working conditions were assessed through interviews and observations with a total of ten (10) operators using the Workplace Ergonomic Risk Assessment, WISHA Caution/Hazard Zone Checklist, and Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaires. Based on the results, both WERA and WISHA showed that risk was present, requiring further investigation due to the awkward postures. In CMDQ results, the body part of the wrist was the highest area of complaint (44.75%), which is the most important to address the pain suffered by the operators. The researchers determined that there is no significant relationship between ergonomics assessment and physical discomfort using Spearman rank correlations. Furthermore, a proposed action plan was created using the hierarchy of administrative (suggestions for administrative programs) and engineering controls of developed equipment that would hold the repositioned heavy hose to limit force exertion.