RIGHT AND LEFT HAND MOTION ANALYSIS OF SEWING MACHINE OPERATOR

Textile and Apparel Industry second largest employment generation sector, after agriculture gives a safe place to work as compared to other manufacturing industries. But hazards and injuries faced by operators here are not fatal immediate but subtle and grow with period of time. Repetitive motions with high frequency make sewing operations ergonomic vulnerable. In this study the authors have focussed on left and right hand motions of sewing operators. Selected six different operations based on type of operation and number of plies to be attached. With the help of markers specific body parts distinguished with other body parts. Digital Camera used for capturing videos. Data Analysis (Human motion Tracking and Simulation) done by open source physics available software named Tracker. With the help of Autotracker feature of software all motions of body part analysed in every frame of video. Graph and table plotted for the x-position, y- position with respect to time. Principles of Motion economy given by International Labour Organisation (ILO, Geneva) are also verified in this paper. After analysing results and calculating distance travelled, different statements concluded like left hand moves more than right hand. Left hand never crosses needle point but right hand crosses. All pivots of hand move in synchronise with each other just the magnitude varies, finger with most movement and shoulder with lowest.