ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

For three years a team of industry experts has been gathering material on cleaning ergonomics and conscious cleaning. In the latest of their exclusive articles for ECJ, Helge Alt from Puhastusekspert in Estonia and Tarja Valkosalo of Propuhtaus Finland (who have been involved since the start) ask whether guidance material supports the adoption of good ergonomics.

We all know how important good ergonomics is in cleaning work. However, musculoskeletal disorders are common, despite the fact that research on cleaning ergonomics has been available for decades.

In the ErgoClean project, we surveyed, among other things, existing guidance materials on cleaning ergonomics. We found that they rarely answered the question of why one way of working is better than another. However, we believe that only the answer to the question "why" will help the person being taught to absorb new information and change attitudes and behaviour, especially as MSDs often take years to develop.

We looked at smart clothing and wanted to know if it could provide useful material for training of ergonomics.

We tested smart shirts and pants with sensors to measure muscle strain and microbreaks, as well as elevated shoulder positions for different cleaning methods. Because of the individual nature of the load, the subjects' maximum muscle performance was measured, and the results were correlated.

We tested how good and bad ergonomic work habits were reflected in the workload when mopping floors and wiping surfaces with damp, moist, and wet work methods, when using machines and when using tools after only brief instruction.

The visual quick reports from the analysis software clearly show how the way of working, choice of method, and skills influence the workload. The red colour of the quick reports highlights the magnitude of the load on the different muscles, thus answering the question "why".

The results of the smart clothing studies make it visible that
• Wet working methods are more loading than damp and moist ones.
• The use of cleaning machines is also very beneficial from an ergonomic point of view.
• The choice of tool has an impact on muscle load.
• Too long a shaft and too wide a movement clearly increase muscle strain.
• Mopping backwards is slightly less loading than mopping forwards.
• It is advantageous to use the strength and movement of the muscles of the legs and not just the muscles of the arms.
• When wiping surfaces, one should avoid reaching too far forwards and sideways.
• If the correct way of using the tool is not managed, the strain on the muscles will be greater. Pay attention to adequate guidance and training!
• Twist cleaning cloths by hand is loading, instead pre-moisten.

Cleaning involves a lot of repetitive and loading work. The load is always a question of duration. Muscle strain can be balanced by varying work methods. According to research, the risk of musculoskeletal disorders increases if the percentage of muscle strain is more than 10% for more than half of the daily working time or more than 30% for more than 10% of the working time. Muscle microbreaks should be more than 5% of the working time.

Therefore, variation is highly recommended. Cleaning professionals can influence their own workload by using different mopping methods, for example, and by alternating between right and left-handed mopping and wiping.

The tests also showed that cleaning workloads are individual. It is influenced by factors such as the worker's physical condition, age and any pre-existing musculoskeletal pain conditions. Ideally, as a person ages or develops musculoskeletal problems, the content of the work should be adapted and lightened to suit the worker.

More on this topic in the smart clothing research report and in the guidebook, which can be found on the project website: ergoclean.eu