LAUSR

Introduction The influence of experience, training, and use of mechanical equipment during baggage handling in a kneeling posture in the aircraft hold remain still largely unknown. However, the introduction of an extendable roller track conveyor (ERC) at the Charleroi airport allow to reduce the number of work accidents occurring in the hold. The purpose of this study was to produce a training video for baggage handlers to speed up their experience with an ERC. Method Expert (n=24) and novice (n=34) handlers were filmed during real handling conditions in the hold of aircrafts to identify specific postures and movements associated to experience level. Based on these findings and ergonomic criteria, a training video of the best handling strategies associated with the use of ERC was realised. The video was showed during training sessions of 72 professional and 61 trainee baggage handlers. Results were collected by self-administered questionnaires. Results Eighteen percent of professionals had never follow any training in handling and 35% who have already follow a training believe that this was not relevant to the work in the hold. Seventy percent of professionals did not consider they had any good handling strategies. After seeing the video, 93% of professionals (98% of trainees) judge that the video is useful and 92% of professionals (97% of trainees) that it would help them to be more careful when handling baggage. Finally, 81% of professionals believe that this project was useful and should be repeated (94%), and 56% report that they had changed their way of handling. Discussion Training in handling is crucial when handling is realised in a kneeling posture in an aircraft hold using an ERC. Our results suggest that a video could be a useful tool to speed up handling experience in this specific work environment.