Ergonomics and occupational health in sugar industry of Pakistan

The present study was conducted in sugar industry of pakistan to analyze the ergonomics and occupational health status. sugar industry is one of the major agrobased industries in pakistan. there were frequent injuries and accidents in sugar industries but a little work had been done on ergonomics and occupational health of workers. for this purpose,questionnaires were prepared and surveys of different sugar industries were conducted to gather both qualitative and quantitative data. the modification in the existing design is also suggested in order to work at safe working level. the results showed that 15 to 20% workers were injured during the season in sugar industry of pakistan. it is also observed that 40% of the total working staff was equipped with safety equipments. on an average,85 to 112 db noise levels were recorded in the sugar industry that affects human health very badly. it was found that about 50% of the workers were not equipped with safety measures. the results showed that working conditions existed in the sugar mills were not satisfactory regarding ergonomics and occupational health. the study suggests that there is need to recruit the skilled manpower to minimize the injuries in sugar industry of pakistan.