LAUSR

Certain characteristics of the work settings of the local method of gari frying have potential for harm which must be identified to prevent or reduce these harms. The sitting posture is one of such characteristics. In this paper, the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in the stirring task of gari-frying was assessed. This assessment covered two different sitting postures i.e. “sitting in front” and “sitting sideways” postures. A preliminary assessment was carried out using questionnaire and oral interview. Further assessment was done with a Quick Exposure Check (QEC). Gari frying in the location under study was dominated by women above 40 years while, the “sitting sideways” posture was mostly used. Most of the workers complained of discomfort at their shoulder/arm and back regions but, workers who take the “sitting sideways” posture complained of pains at their neck region. Discomfort in the wrist/hand region was the additional complain of workers who adopted the “sitting in front” posture. For the “sitting sideways” posture, QEC assessment revealed that the back, wrist/arm and neck regions were at a high risk of WMSDs, while for the “sitting in front” posture, only the neck region had a high risk of WMSDs. This paper reveals that the stirring task of the gari frying process is very tedious and has a risk of WMSDs that varies to different degrees depending on the sitting posture adopted