REDESIGNING THE TASK OF SWEEPING FINE DUST AT AN ASPHALT PLANT
ViVA employed innovative design strategy immediately transforming safety and efficiency in manual sweeping tasks.
PROJECT LEAD
PROJECT TEAM
Solo
PARTNERED WITH
Software Solutions Company, ErgoAnalyst
Context
Asphalt production plants are critical components of infrastructure development, supporting industries like road construction and urban development. These facilities often operate 24/7 to meet the high demand for asphalt, requiring continuous maintenance to ensure uninterrupted production.
Challenge
An asphalt production provider sought to address concerns raised by their maintenance and plant operation staff who reported neck and shoulder pain, compounded by fatigue when working long shifts and spending more than three hours per shift sweeping asphalt fine dust with long handled brooms and awkwardly managing wheel barrow transit of materials.
Approach
ViVA conducted on-site design workshops to understand worker needs and concerns, and the task-redesign opportunities. With the workers, they researched sweeping options given that hose outlets were unavailable and costly to install. ViVA conducted an integrated manual task risk assessment and compared possible substitutions to the long-handled broom using predictive analytics in a software solution system. ViVA applied multi-criteria decision-making for transparency in strategies.
Outcomes
ViVA helped the organisation justify the introduction of a manual push broom with a hopper, simplifying the task while making it more accessible to workers. The risk reductions halved the acute exposures to the workers’ back and shoulders. Task time halved, saving worker fatigue and company money.