Effect of the Psychophysical Approach in Slipping Incident Among Workers at The Commercial Kitchen Activity

Abstract

Introduction: The occurrence of slips can be disruptive in workers’ life, causing various types of injuries. Working with prolonged standing and walking postures in a commercial kitchen contributes to worker fatigue. A psychophys- ical approach can be used in identifying the extent to which workers’ fatigue contributes to the occurrence of slip- ping. Method: Electromyography (EMG) was used to record and analyze the data of three values of muscle activity obtained from the study. Twelve participants aged 23 to 60 years old with a Body Mass Index (BMI) mean of 27.82 ± 4.01 kg/m2. The participants were selected based on the experience of at least three years and above in commercial kitchen activity. The testing procedures were explained in detail upon agreement. They had to walk with four different types of walking speeds with water and oil as the contaminants on the floors. Results: The slip occurred high frequency for obese participants compared to overweight participants when increasing their speeds of walking on oily floor surfaces. Female participants experience slips more than male participants. The muscle Soleus and Tibialis frequently produce higher muscle activity during slip occurrence compared to muscle Peroneus. Conclusion: The results of the study show that the psychophysical approach is significant in the occurrence of slipping during work activities in commercial kitchens when the muscle of Soleus and Tibialis produces higher muscle activity during slip occurrence. There was no significant factor of age during the slip occurrence.