DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE ERGONOMIC AND OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR FOUNDRIES

This paper proposes a Comprehensive Ergonomic and Occupational Safety Evaluation Framework for Foundries to integrate ergonomic risk assessment, conventional occupational hazard evaluation, quantitative risk scoring, and corrective-action prioritisation. The framework combines established methods, including REBA, RULA, and the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation where applicable, with systematic evaluation of mechanical, thermal, chemical, physical, and organisational hazards. A weighted composite model is proposed to facilitate workstation comparison, while independent critical-hazard checks ensure that serious safety concerns are not obscured by aggregate scores. An illustrative numerical example demonstrates how the model could be applied to moulding, pouring, and grinding workstations. However, the example uses hypothetical data and does not establish empirical effectiveness. The proposed weights, normalisation procedures, and decision bands require expert review, field calibration, and sensitivity analysis. The principal contribution is the development of a structured methodology for connecting ergonomic assessment with broader occupational safety management in foundry environments. Its practical value will ultimately depend on validation against actual workplace conditions and evidence that the resulting interventions improve worker safety and health.

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