Understanding the whole-body vibration produced by mining equipment as a role-player in workers' well-being - a systematic review

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

Joana Duarte (Author) FEUP; Jacqueline Castelo Branco (Author) Other; M. L. Matos (Author) Other; João Santos Baptista (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Extractive Industries and Society

Vol. 7

Pages: 1607-1623

ISSN: 2214790X

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 2 Citations

Scopus - 5 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-K6Z

DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2020.08.002

Abstract (EN): Whole-body vibration is one of the most significant occupational hazards, affecting various industries, here specifically, mining. Long term exposure is a recognised risk factor for diverse symptoms and diseases. Companies have a role to play when it comes to social responsibility including their workers' well-being. This systematic review aims to identify mining equipment contributing to the occupational whole-body vibration and under what conditions. This major question was divided into several others regarding independent variables such as equipment size, hauling condition, and speed, among others. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analysis methodology was applied to carry out the research: from the 1146 identified papers, 23 were included in this study. In the first phase, criteria such as publication date, type of document, type of source and language were used. The snowballing technique was applied to collect more relevant information; in this stage, the exclusion criteria were not applied. The main results show that, at some level, features such as the size of the vehicle, load and vehicle speed have an impact on the level of vibration. Occupational whole-body vibration has negative consequences on the body, and in the long term can lead to chronic issues such as low back pain, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and spinal degeneration, among several other problems. More studies on how to reduce vibrational health risk are needed; cabin design should be improved and adequate seats in the operating environment capable of attenuating vibration should be considered.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 17