The ergonomic impact of a mattress lift tool and bottom sheet type on hotel room cleaners while making beds

Carisa Harris-Adamson; Emma Lam; Fadi Fathallah; Angela D Tong; Stephen Hill; Andrew Smith

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102880

The ergonomic impact of a mattress lift tool and bottom sheet type on hotel room cleaners while making beds

Appl Ergon. 2019 Nov:81:102880. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102880. Epub 2019 Jun 22.

Authors

Carisa Harris-Adamson¹, Emma Lam², Fadi Fathallah³, Angela D Tong⁴, Stephen Hill⁵, Andrew Smith⁵

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Health Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: carisaharris@berkeley.edu.
² Department of Physical Therapy, Samuel Merritt University, Oakland, CA, USA.
³ Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁵ Motion Analysis Research Center, Samuel Merritt University, Oakland, CA, USA.

PMID: 31422276
DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102880

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to quantify biomechanical and cardiovascular exposure while making beds with and without interventions (mattress lift tool and fitted sheet). Sixteen female hotel room cleaners participated in this multifactorial (tool and sheet) laboratory study of crossover design. Exertion in the upper extremity (<2) and back (<3) was consistently lower when using the tool and fitted sheet (p < 0.05). The average number of lifts per bed was reduced by 48% with an 18 s increase in cycle time per bed. Peak forearm flexor activity was significantly lower when using a tool(p < 0.05). Spinal lateral plane range of motion (p < 0.02) and maximum twisting velocity (p < 0.03) were lowest using the tool and fitted sheet together. Interventions such as a mattress lift tool used with a fitted sheet reduced the number of mattress lifts and lowered perceived exertion among hotel room cleaners while making beds.

Keywords: Bed making; Biomechanical exposure; Hotel room cleaners; Intervention; Physical exposure.

Publication types

Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

Adult
Bedding and Linens
Beds
Biomechanical Phenomena
Cross-Over Studies
Equipment Design
Ergonomics / instrumentation*
Female
Forearm / physiopathology
Household Work / methods*
Humans
Lifting / adverse effects*
Low Back Pain / etiology
Low Back Pain / prevention & control
Middle Aged
Musculoskeletal Diseases / etiology
Musculoskeletal Diseases / prevention & control*
Occupational Diseases / etiology
Occupational Diseases / prevention & control*
Physical Exertion / physiology
Risk Factors
Spine / physiopathology
Workload