Home » Musculoskeletal » SJMD-ID13.php Scientific Journal of Musculoskeletal Disorders


Review Article

Occupational Physical Stress Faced by Construction Workers & Painters and Improvement of their Work Activity; a Literature Review

Reenu Singh*, Ashok K Pundir and Rauf Iqbal

National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai

*Address for Correspondence: Reenu Singh, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, Tel: +919-619-601-015; ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2476-5465; E-mail: ar.reenusingh@gmail.com

Submitted: 21 July 2019; Approved: 26 August 2019; Published: 11 September 2019

Citation this article: Singh R, Pundir AK, Iqbal R. Occupational Physical Stress Faced by Construction Workers & Painters and Improvement of their Work Activity; a Literature Review. Sci J Musculoskelet Disord. 2019;3(1): 001-010.

Copyright: © 2019 Singh R, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Keywords: Construction; Equipment; Musculoskeletal disorders; Painters

Download Fulltext PDF

Studies related to chemical exposure and organ cancer have been carried out with regards to construction workers across the countries. However, few studies include occupational physical stress faced by construction painters in finishing task. Similarly, a handful deals with product design and tool design that can be used to alleviate their occupational stress. The paper includes literature review of occupational stress experienced by construction workers, improvement of work quality, musculoskeletal disorders experienced by construction workers, health issues faced by construction painters, design interventions which include tools and equipment) and patents of products and tools designed for construction painters. Multiple combinations of keywords were used which comprised of; construction, physical stress, Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), ergonomics, painter, worker, high-rise buildings. Several authors have focused on studies related to health issues which deals with effects of noise and fumes on the health of construction workers while others have discussed automation, and few have carried out experimental studies that consist of task analysis, impact of temperature & height on the occupational performance and health of the industrial and construction workers. The article will provide insightful information for medical practitioners, safety & health consultants and industrial designers alike.

Abbreviations

COPD: Chronic Pulmonary Disease; CWFIGS: Construction Workers Federation of India; DOE: Design of Experiments; FEM: Finite Element Method; KPMG: Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler; MSD: Musculo Skeletal Disorder; NSDC: National Skill Development Corporation; OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; TAMIR: Technion Autonomous Multipurpose Interior Robot; WEP: Water Based Paint

Introduction

Unskilled construction workers constitute 83.3% of the total construction manpower [1]. Construction workers face injuries, health issues and suffer death due to various reasons. Apart from exposure to solvents and chemicals in the paint mixing and application, painters experience musculoskeletal disorders in various regions of their body. Studies related to chemical exposure and organ cancer have been done with regards to construction workers across the countries. However, very few studies have been conducted on product designing of better tools and equipment that can alleviate the musculoskeletal disorders and increase efficiency as well. Workers who are employed by standalone contractors are high in number. There are about 120000 such contractors in the country [1]. 32 million workers are engaged in Construction activities in India. Out of these 22.2 million workers are not registered workers. Out of 15.2 million short-duration out-migrant workers, 36.2 % are employed in construction sector. Construction workers’ job and social security is at a threat from companies in both private as well as public sector. Every year in public sector, the number of permanent workers is decreasing including the technicians, engineers and architects.

To understand efficiency, comfort of the painters needs to be studied. With rise in construction activity in India since last fifteen years, need of the informal unskilled workers have risen immensely. By 2022 there will be about one million construction and maintenance finishing workers employed in India (figure 1).

Painting is a part of finishing process. Due to weathering and washing of exterior paint due to constant exposure to rain and varied temperatures, the old construction need maintenance painting every five years. Therefore, the painting work is rather a continuous process which is carried all through the life of a building. The demand of painters and need to thus solve issues faced by the work force is significant to contribute to efficiency and productivity of the workers. The following content of the article deals with occupational stress and design interventions that have been carried out to improve the task of construction and maintenance painters.

Construction Activity

Construction activity consists of various actions and processes. Some of these processes fall under the two heads; site preparation and site operations [2]. A construction project consists of various steps and processes. Each following the other and few are carried out simultaneously. Broadly a project starts with project brief which is more about planning and design followed by detailing and certain decisions pertaining to electrical, plumbing, HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air conditioning), finishing, site design and detailing, marketing and sales and so on. The work is either in house or is done with outside contracts with contractors and consultants. Depending on the different processes and the capability of the firm to handle the tasks, the firm uses in house team or collaborates with other firms and consultants to carry out the different stages of construction and finishing.

Rise in population of construction workers

As indicated in the figure 2, there is a steady rise in the unskilled workers from 1995 to 2004. However, 2005 onwards the rate of increase has gone up. This was the time when construction activity in India had experienced a sharp rise and supply of construction projects was suddenly high due to increase in economic activity in the commercial and industrial systems.

The tasks of completing and completing construction works is predicted to be more than the other stages of activities that are part of a building construction activity. Therefore, demand of completion and finishing workers will increase over the next five years (figure 3).

Thus need to study the occupation health& safety becomes essential for the efficiency of the workers engaged in completion and finishing of buildings. Construction workers experience several issues due to nature of their work, task performance with their equipment, safety issues, social and peer issues, exposure to chemicals and pollutants among others.

Issues faced by construction workers

Construction labour form around 7.8% of the world labour force. The fatal deaths of construction workers account to 16.4% of the total deaths across the globe [2]. After agriculture, construction is the second largest economic activity in India. The maximum number of deaths are resulted by falls followed by electrocution and then by fire. Any construction project includes preparation of site, building of sub-structure, superstructure and followed by finishing. These steps of building construction can be further integrated into smaller processes and sequences depending on the architectural design and chosen manufacturing process. Plastering, Painting, landscaping, electrical fittings and fixtures, paving is some of the activities that follow completion of the super structure of a building. The status of construction workers is largely uncertain as they consist mostly of informal workforce. Most processes in the construction processes employ unskilled workers on large scale. As less number of studies have been done on construction workers and their occupational issues, the health and safety of the workers has been neglected. Issue faced by construction workers.

Relationship of Worker with Work and Workstation

Workers perform with their tools and equipment. The workstation and the immediate exterior activity area is the workstation of a construction worker. For construction finishers and painters, the job includes gathering teammates, expected extent of the surface to be painted, making of the paint mixture, procurement of harness and helmet, extension poles/sticks, material to fix one end of rope or support at the roof, smaller bucket to refill with paint mixture, rough cloth and brushes. His personal belongs which the painter and cleaner wears on himself includes, his attire, cell phone, lighter and bidi or cigarette, tobacco and calcium paste. Figure 04 shows interrelationship between a worker, work (task) and workstation (workspace) [3].

Worker performs the task in a specific space which is affected by surrounding physical, social and environmental factors. Work on the other hand is the task which is a defined set of actions that are carried out with the help of tools and equipment and required interaction with the environment, peers and cognitive abilities. Workspace is the area in which the task is performed which sometimes constitute to a portion of the task as well as is evident in case of construction painting task where the wall surface and whole access on scaffolding becomes the workspace.

The health hazards a painter experiences are of varying nature. There are risks of falling from the hanging rope, slipping from the scaffolding, ill functioning of the harness resulting in fall of the painters, maintaining balance and falling off, movement in precarious positions and postures resulting in loss of balance, muscle strain, breathing disorders due to inhalation of powder paint and fumes. Stressful weather conditions, conflict with peers and supervisor leading to mental stress. Such issues are pertinent to occupational efficiency and wellbeing of the building painters. Thus, to understand wellbeing of construction workers, it is important to closely review the role of tools and equipment which directly affects their work at hand at a given time.

Literature Review

Construction activities on site require workers to move arms above shoulder while carrying out activities of carrying heavy and awkward load or performing a task. Hence tasks and activities of construction is an issue in ergonomics [4]. Materials may also be heavy and inconveniently sized and shaped, thus presenting manual materials-handling problems to the workers. Moreover numerous construction tasks pose significant ergonomic risks to workers [5]. Several studies in the past have focused on manual construction workers however no study has been conducted so far on occupational issues faced by construction and maintenance painters.

Search method

Research papers available online at various web sites including Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar and ProQuest were searched using sets of keywords. In multiple combinations research papers were searched using the following keywords: ergonomics, external wall, painting, construction, painting, and worker, high-rise housing [6]. Various authors have thus found to have focused on studies related to health issues related to noise and fumes that are faced by construction workers in general. While some authors discussed automation in construction industry in the world, few have carried experimental studies in the areas of impact of temperature, height and task analysis. Since 1998 some ergonomic studies have been carried out in the sector of building construction [7]. However, there is observed a lack of task studies and analysis of workers that are employed in jobs of finishing, painting, scaffolding and shuttering fastening among others.

Literature review of studies on issues faced by construction workers in painting task

Area of research being Health, Hazards, Tools, equipment pertaining to job of construction painters, the papers so found were screened further. Literature Review of issues faced by construction workers across the research studies done from.

Issues faced by construction workers in construction and painting task

Construction painters suffer from solvent related health issues, respiratory disease and skin disease [8,9]. According to Fiddler, construction painters are observed to have contact sensitivity issues which are related to solvent exposure in paints. Contact sensitivity is associated with usage of paint, glue and putties. Solvents affect neuro-behaviour and causes arm weakness [9,10] found that construction painters who are exposed to chronic solvents suffer from neuropsychiatric symptoms. Though, conjunctivitis is not found related to painting task by asthma, rhinitis and bronchitis is related to painting task. Painters with experience of 1-10 years and long working history has three-fold higher risk of developing asthma than other construction workers [15,18]. Construction painters are susceptible to develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) [14]. However, since past two decades epoxy and urethane has been used less in construction painting [24]. Dust and other impurities at construction painting site affects respiratory health of construction painters [14,18,19]. Studies on respiratory effects in construction painters is less than on other trades [20]. Water based paints have replaced solvent based paints in recent decades and User-friendly, low-emitting photocatalytic materials in the indoor wall painting [15,24,26]. Photocatalytic paint in indoor wall paints reduce air pollution [27-29]. Photocatalytic titania based surfaces can improve environment [34]. Lead was used in old constructed buildings. Lead content is highest in railings, metallic structure, yellow paint on road dividers, public play grounds [36].

Besides natural landscape features that lie next to construction site, weather and physical onsite machinery, physical entities related to job of construction painters can be integrated into three basic entities. 1) Individual; the construction painter’s physical self which is involved in tasks of repeated movements and load bearing along with cognitive abilities employed in sensing precision and hand feet coordination in reaching out. In doing so the body of the painters experience various stress at different parts which leads to Musculoskeletal Disorders. Different body parts suffer physical stress differently depending on the expected intensity of work. 2) Essentials entities specific to Construction painting; this consist of task design, tool and equipment, aids that help the painter in performing the painting task with less stress and fatigue and costume which is immediately on his self. Costume thus plays an important role in giving comfort of movements and easy stretch of arms and legs in reaching and twisting movements. 3) External supporting elements essential to construction painters: these are the infrastructure tools and structures that give physical support and aid to move up and down the building façade and carry his paint and other equipment around his workspace (workstation (figure 4)).

Wall painting robots

Finishing task of newly constructed building as well as maintenance of old buildings require painting work. Several studies have shown design interventions to automate the painting task. Such studies deals mainly with robots that paint a wall surface. Specifications and limitations of these designs are highlighted in table 2.

Automation of wall painting by wall painting robots

Spray painting robot was designed in 2013 that can be used to paint interior walls of a buildings [50]. This prototype robot moves on floor surface. A safety robot was designed that can be used for maintenance and cleaning work as well as for inspection of the buildings [51]. Asakawa and Takeuchi worked on control commands for robot to function without special knowledge. The robot was used to paint car bumper to test the functioning of command on a contoured surface. The painting activity resulted in uniform thickness of the paint coating on the contour surface of the bumper [52]. Moon and his team worked on locomotion and adhesion based robot that can be used for painting walls [53]. TAMIR (Technion Autonomous Multipurpose Interior Robot) was designed by adaptation of mobile carriage which had attached working tools and fitted material feeding system. It had a painting arm with a radius of 1.5 m [54]. Moon and his team again built a prototype robot that had built-in guide rail. Moon’s robot could work for maintenance of building [55]. Koleka and his team studied various robot structures and their respective workspaces. He suggested that the most important aspects of design of robots are degrees of freedom, ease of programming, work accuracy, character of workspace and arm configuration for apt movement and reach [56]. Another robot was designed in which the distance of the reach of wall surface is fed by supervising worker and once paint other materials are set the robot starts to paint the wall autonomously [57]. A painting robot was developed that could paint only ceilings of a room. The size was a limitation as it could not be moved through narrow door openings and other spaces in residential buildings [58]. A multifunctional robot was designed for construction sites that could do four tasks which are painting, plastering, tiling and masonry [59]. It had limitations that due to its heavy weight it cannot climb and was cumbersome to be transported at the painting spots inside the buildings. A couple of spray painting robots were designed which was again very heavy [60, 61].

Design of tools and equipment

Physical interaction of workers with their tools play an important role in providing comfort in carrying out their task easily. Physical comfort of good grip and unwanted body posture due to absence of correct tool and equipment thus affects physical health of the construction workers. Table 3 shows the studies that deals with design intervention related to tasks of manual construction workers and improvement of tools and equipment.

Design interventions of tools and equipment

Areas of improvements are design of equipment and re-engineering [44, 45, 47, 49]. Design of materials, packaging and delivery method can reduce accident more than third of all the risks at construction site [71]. Kerbs had been redesigned for better and easier edging of the surfaces [73]. Usability of trowels has been tested [75]. Stability of saws had been evaluated for better interaction and function [76]. A pilot investigation for comparison of usability of random orbit sanders and ergonomic evaluation had been conducted [77]. Brick laying device was designed [78]. Ergonomic quality of hand tools used at construction site which were used during construction process were studied [79]. Accidents are associated with design of equipment, support and tools that are used in material handling [80]. Construction safety is linked with barrier at construction sites that cordon potentially hazardous activities and site areas [81]. Parapet wall should be 42 inches high. Inappropriate installation of roofs and facades are hazardous for construction workers and that technical faults are caused by poor workmanship and not by quality of the material. 27% of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) [82] reports are linked to Design of entities and system at construction sites.

Designs of painting tools and equipment

Several painting tools have been designed that help construction painters in their task. Table 4 highlights these studies. Some deals with platforms, organisers, buckets while others deal with belt, raised platform among others.

Product design patents for construction painters

William porter’s ‘Adjustable foldable horse for painters’ is a foldable support, base width is controlled with screws. Willia Hoehm’s ‘Improvement in painter’s scaffold’ is a platform of timber made up of longitudinal and transverse members. It is portable and when in use can be fitted on base rods. Charles Sprague’s ‘Platform for painters’ is a folder platform, fitted on metal ladder used only for interior wall painting. Martin Mattson’s ‘Painter’s roof bracket’ is used to support a platform for painters to stand. The platform is fixed on slant roofs supported by ‘C’ shaped pair of brackets. John Wright’s ‘Jack for roofers and carpenters’ is secured to roof. It is a scissor shaped jack used to support a small plank or a platform. ‘Carrying case for wet and dry painting booth’ comprises of Drainable tray occupying two sides of a case. Limitation of low capacity of containment of paint and is used for interior wall painting (by Joseph Rocco). ‘Brush Kit’ is a case holder with housing to hold different sizes of paint brushes (by Oddo Charles). ‘Multiple roller corner painting tool’ is essentially a set of rollers at right angle on the handle additionally the product is foldable. Used to paint corner of the walls (by Hugo Rivadeneira) ‘Adjustable holder assembly for painting tools’ comprises of an adjustable arm used as a holder for painting accessory. Arm can be fixed to a round pipe (Chad Posser, Erick Rudnick). ‘Painter’s pouch’ by Carl D. Robinson is a rigid box with paint container and other pouch to store paint accessories. Bag is carried with support on shoulder and back. Issues may arise for external wall painter to carry the (insufficient) load on body for hours. ‘Multipurpose paint brush’ by Bert H Abbey consists of a bucket with a short handle; can be hung on a bar/pole member and is meant for interior painting due to small size and absence of hanging feature. ‘Apparatus for carrying a spray paint’ (Mark E. Devine) consists of a belt with a housing attached to hold spray cans. Not meant for wall painting. ‘Painter’s utility belt’ (by Charles L. Byrd) is a wearable belt with a pouch on one side. Robert Scholl’s ‘Paint holder and delivery device’ comprise of a bucket with a spout; held in hand; no attachment feature. ‘Multipurpose paint bucket’ includes a main compartment along with smaller spaces for different paint in unequal quantity. Preferred use in in interior wall painting; low paint capacity (by Bert H Abbey). ‘Painting machine and control unit for use in a painting booth’ is a painting booth; not usable for wall painting (by Fujio Soshi, Masaharu Okuda, Koichizo Asami).

Conclusion

Causes of discomfort and problem areas in the regions of body of construction painters is mainly due to lack of improved design of tools and equipment, as has been established by Smallwood in his past studies. Hence to make the task less stressful, the physical strain in inconvenient body postures should be avoided. Design interventions that provide convenient working and less postural stress will thus lower the Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) and intensity of the work for the construction and maintenance painters.

  1. NSDC, Human Resource and Skill Requirements in Building, Construction and Real estate Sector real estate sector. 2007; 5: 7, 22, 45, 47
  2. Kulkarni GK. Construction industry: More needs to be done. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2007; 11: 1-2. https://bit.ly/2kbotqm
  3. Reenu Singh. Rauf Iqbal, AK Pundir. Jugaad: A conventional formula to solve problems of people living in rural India. The Japanese Journal of Ergonomics. 2017a; 53: 474-477. https://bit.ly/2k6Xufz
  4. Schneider S, Susi P. Ergonomics and Construction: A review of potential hazards in new construction. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1994; 55: 635-649. https://bit.ly/2lLexUE
  5. Gibbons B, Hecker S. Participatory approach to ergonomic risk reduction: Case study of body harnesses for concrete work. Proceedings of the Second International Conference of CIB Working Commission W99 Implementation of Safety and Health on Construction Sites. 1999; 373-380.
  6. Kavilkar R, Patil S. Study of high rise building in indian cities- (A Case Study-Pune City). IJET. 2014; 6: 86-90. https://bit.ly/2lC1apX
  7. Smallwood JJ, Deacon, CH, Venter DJL. Ergonomics in construction: Workers’ perceptions of strain. Ergonomics SA. 2000; 12: 2-12.
  8. Fidler A T, Baker E L, Letz RE. Neurobehaviour effects of occupational exposure to organic solvents among construction painters. Br J Ind Med. 1987; 44: 292-308. https://bit.ly/2m8f1Vl
  9. Baker EL, Letz RE, Eisen EA, Pothier LJ, Plantamura DL, Larson M. et al. Neurobehaviour effects of solvents among construction painters. J Occup Med. 1988; 30: 116-123. https://bit.ly/2k78pWB
  10. Kaukiainen A, Riala R, Martikainen R, Akila R, Reijula K, Sainio M. Solvent-related health effects among construction painters with decreasing exposure, SJWEH. 2005; Suppl, 2, 54–60.
  11. Hedman J, Kaprio J, Poussa T, Nieminen MM. Prevalence of asthma, aspirin intolerance, nasal polyposis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a population-based study. Int J Epidemiol. 1999; 28: 717-722. https://bit.ly/2kapcbi
  12. Kilpelainen M, Terho EO, Helenius H, Koskenvuo M. Validation of a new questionnaire on asthma, allergic rhinitis, and conjunctivitis in young adults. Allergy. 2001; 56: 377-384. https://bit.ly/2lHadWD
  13. Susitaival P, Husman T. Tuohilampi questionnaire. Questions and question-sets designed for epidemiological studies of environmental or work-related symptoms or diseases of respiratory organs, skin and eyes in the adult population (in Finnish). Hakapaino Oy, Helsinki. 1996.
  14. Bergdahl IA, Toren K, Eriksson K, Hedlund U, Nilsson T, Flodin R. et al. Increased mortality in COPD among construction workers exposed to inorganic dust. Eur Respir J. 2004; 23: 402-406. https://bit.ly/2m7p7FW
  15. Wieslander G, Janson C, Norback D, Bjornsson E, Stalenheim G, Edling C. Occupational exposure to water-based paints and self-reported asthma, lower airway symptoms, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, and lung function. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2004; 66: 261-267. https://bit.ly/2kARbRE
  16. Kotaniemi JT, Lundback B, Nieminen MM, Sovijarvi AR, Laitinen LA. Increase of asthma in adults in northern Finland-a report from the FinEsS study. Allergy. 2001; 56: 169-174. https://bit.ly/2kBOfnH
  17. Lundback B, Nystrom L, Rosenhall L, Stjernberg N. Obstructive lung disease in northern Sweden: respiratory symptoms assessed in a postal survey. Eur Respir J. 1991; 4: 257-266. https://bit.ly/2kzu2Pt
  18. Arif AA, Whitehead LW, Delclos GL, Tortolero SR, Lee ES. Prevalence and risk factors of work related asthma by industry among United States workers: data from the third national health and nutrition examination survey (1988–94). Occup Environ Med. 2002; 59: 505-551. https://bit.ly/2kARtrI
  19. Hnizdo E, Sullivan PA, Bang K M, Wagner G. Association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and employment by industry and occupation in the US population: a study of data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Am J Epidemiol. 2002; 156: 738-746. https://bit.ly/2m84Znf
  20. Dahlqvist M, Ulfvarson U. The role of preservatives in water-borne products on health effects in house painters. Occup Hyg. 1996; 3: 417-425
  21. Schwartz DA, Baker EL. Respiratory illness in the construction industry. Airflow obstruction among painters. Chest. 1988; 93: 134-137. https://bit.ly/2m7r8Sw
  22. Wieslander G, Norback D, Edling C. Airway symptoms among house painters in relation to exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs)-a longitudinal study. Ann Occup Hyg. 1997; 41: 155-166. https://bit.ly/2m059wD
  23. L. Kanerva, P. Elsner, J.E. Wahlberg, H.I. Maibach. Handbook of occupational dermatology. 1st ed. New York: Springer, Berlin Heidelberg; 2000. https://bit.ly/2lFjNJC
  24. Riala R. Air impurities in construction painting (In Finnish). Report 2. Uusimaa Regional Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki. 1993; 30.
  25. Riala R, Kalliokoski P, Pyy L, Wickstrom G. Solvent exposure in construction and maintenance painting. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1984; 10: 263-266. https://bit.ly/2kpSWBf
  26. Geiss O, Cacho C, Moreno JB, Kotzai D. Photocatalytic degradation of organic paint constituents formation of carbonyls. Building environment. 2012; 48: 107-112. https://bit.ly/2krjgef
  27. Kolarik J, Toftum J. Impact of photocatalytic paint on indoor air pollutants. Building and Environment. 2012; 57: 396-402. https://bit.ly/2kcc8SQ
  28. Aguia C, Madeira LMM, Mandes A. Influence of photocatalytic paint components on the photoactivity of P25 toward NO abatement. Catalysis Today. 2012; 151: 77-83. https://bit.ly/2kCaOIS
  29. Auvinen J, Wirtanen L. The influence of photocatalytic interior paints on indoor air quality. Atmospheric Environment. 2008; 42: 410-412. https://bit.ly/2kAfr6o
  30. Gandolfo A, Bartolomel V, Alvarez EG, Tlili S, Gligorovski S, Kleffmann JK, et al. The effectiveness of Indoor photocatalytic paints on NOx and HONO levels. Applied Catalysis. 2015; 166-167: 84-90. https://bit.ly/2lGiUR0
  31. Laufs S, Burgeth G, Dultlinger W, Kurtenbach R, Maban M, Thomas C. et al. Conversion of Nitrogen Oxide on commercial photocatalytic paints. Atmospheric Environment. 2010; 44: 2341-2349. https://bit.ly/2lGjezc
  32. Tryba B, Homa P, Wrobel RJ, Mrrawski AW. Photocatalytic decomposition of Benzo[a] pyrene on the surface of acrylic, latex and mineral paints, influence of paint composition. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry. 2014; 286: 10-15. https://bit.ly/2k59RZq
  33. Monteiro RAR, Lopez FVS, Silva AMT, Angelo J, Silva GV, Mendes AM, et al. Are TiO2-based exterior paints useful catalysts for gas-phase photooxidation process? a case study on N-Decane abatement for air detoxification. Applied Catalysis B. 2014; 147: 988-999. https://bit.ly/2kCbOwC
  34. Allen NS, Edge M, Vervan J, Sratton J, Maltby J, Bygott C. Photocatalytic titania based surfaces: environmental benefits. Polymer Degradation and Stability. 2008; 93: 1632-1646. https://bit.ly/2m7A4r2
  35. Chen J, Kou SC, Poon CS. Photocatalytic cement based materials: Comparision Nitrogen Oxides and Toluene removal potential and evaluation of self cleaning perfomance. Building and Environment. 2011; 46: 1827-1833. https://bit.ly/2kpY34m
  36. Markowitz G. The childhood lead poisioning epidemic in historical perspective, Endeavour. 2016; 40: 93-101. https://bit.ly/2lHkNgj
  37. Bower JA, Lister S, Hazebrouck G, Perdrial N. Geospatial evaluation of lead bioaccessibiulity and distribution for site specific prediction of threshold limits. Environ Pollut. 2017; 229: 290-299. https://bit.ly/2kpWkvW
  38. Singh R, Iqbal R, Pundir AK. Physiological and Psychological discomfort faced by workers in their prolonged work routine. Conference proceedings, International Conference on Humanizing Work and Work Environment. 2016; 446-447. https://bit.ly/2m2PVac
  39. Singh R. Understanding Emergent Property of a System with the help of Behaviour of parts in the Physical and Information World. Conference Proceedings, International Conference on Business Excellence in Turbulent Times. 2017; 536-545. https://bit.ly/2m6qe8S
  40. Singh R, Iqbal R, Pundir AK. Product design interventions to solve issues faced in the use of hand held blender in domestic use. Conference proceedings, 15th International Conference on Humanizing Work and Work Environment. 2017; https://bit.ly/2kpXsQc
  41. Singh R, Pundir AK, Iqbal R, Ganpathy L. An overview of scope of ambidexterity for workers in construction industry in discontinuous change. Conference proceedings, 59th National convention of Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering and International Conference on Management and Industrial Engineering. 2017(c); 77. https://bit.ly/2lGmeeW
  42. Khare M, Singh A, Zamboni P. Prospect of brain-machine interface in motor disabilities: the future support for multiple sclerosis patient to improve quality of life. Ann Med Health Sci Res. 2014; 4: 305–312. https://bit.ly/2m4PRqt
  43. Singh SP, Rathee N, Gupta H, Zamboni P, Singh AK. Contactless and Hassle Free Real Time Heart Rate Measurement with Facial Video, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. J Card Crit Care. 2017; 01: 024-029. https://bit.ly/2lLDbVa
  44. Smallwood JJ. Ergonomics in construction. Ergonomics SA. 1997; 9: 6-23.  
  45. Smallwood JJ. Construction Ergonomics: General Contractor (GC) Perceptions. Ergonomics SA. 2002; 14: 8-18.
  46. Smallwood JJ, Haupt. Construction Ergonomics: An Indian and South African comparison. Ergonomics SA. 2007; 19: 1010-2728. https://bit.ly/2kbStT0
  47. Zimmerman CL, Cook TM, Rosecrance JC. Trade specific trends in self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms and job factor perceptions among unionized construction workers. Proceedings of the 13th Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association Experience to Innovation. Tampere, Finland. 1997; 214-216,
  48. Schneider SP. Musculoskeletal injuries in construction: A review of the literature. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2001; 16: 1056-64. https://bit.ly/2m4R8hf
  49. Remana, KR, Satyanarayana KN. Occupational Safety and Health of Indian Construction Workers Engaged in Manual Material Handling. Proceedings of the 4th Triennial International Conference Rethinking and Revitalising Construction Safety Health Environment and Quality. Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 17-20 May, 2005; 461-469.
  50. Keerthana P, Jeevitha K Navina V, Indira G, Jayamani S. Automatic wall painting robot. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology. 2013; 2: 3009-3023. https://bit.ly/2lJzmjG
  51. Bock T. Automation robot. 2007; 22: 201. https://bit.ly/2lHV3AD
  52. Asakawa N, Takeyuchi Y. Teachingless spray painting of sculpted surface by industrial robot. Robotocs and Automation, Proceedings of International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 1997; 4: 1-63. https://bit.ly/2m6soVZ
  53. Moon SM, Huh J, Lee S, Kang S, Han CS, Hong D. A survey on robot system for high-rise building wall maintenance. Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering. 2013; 30: 359-367. https://bit.ly/2lGpNBQ
  54. Rosenfeld Y, Warszawski A, Zazicek U. Full scale building with interior finishing robot. Automation in Construction. 1993; 2: 229-240. https://bit.ly/2lGALrb
  55. Moon SM, Hong D, Kim SW, Park S. Building wall maintenance robot based on built-in guide rail. IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology. 2012; https://bit.ly/2kzxo53
  56. Kolekar GB, Shinde VB, Shelar RN. Workspace analysis of various robots for wall painting application. International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research. 2015; 2: 3315- 3321. https://bit.ly/2kB6V7c   
  57. Sorour M, Abdellatif M, Ramadan A, AboIsmail A. Development of roller-based interior wall painting robot. Proceeding of the icam, venice, Italy. 2011; 5: 1785-1792. https://bit.ly/2m7qcgZ
  58. Aris I, Parvez Iqbal AK, Ramli AR, Shamsuddin S. Design and development of a programmable painting robot for houses and buildings. Jurnal Teknologi. 2014; 42 (A): 27-48. https://bit.ly/2kCkovl
  59. Kahane B, Rosenfeld Y. Balancing human-and-robot integration in building task. Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering. 2004; 19: 393-410. https://bit.ly/2lLGPOQ
  60. Naticchia A, Giretti A, Carbonari A. “Set up of an automated multicolour system for interior. ISARC. 2007; 4: 194-199. https://bit.ly/2krpPxp
  61. De Grassi M, Naticchia B, Giretti A, Cartonari A. Development of an automatic four color spraying device carried by a robot. 2007; 17-19. https://bit.ly/2lFqRpC
  62. Frievalds A. The ergonomics of shovelling and shovel design- a review of the literature. Ergonomics. 2010; 29: 3-18. https://bit.ly/2kClmaX
  63. Tichauer ER, Gage H. Ergonomic principles basic to hand tool design. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1977; 38: 622-634. https://bit.ly/2kcjQfK
  64. Liu H, Li Z, Zheng L. Rapid preliminary helmet shell based on three dimensional anthropometric head data. Journal of Engineering Design. 2008; 19: 45-54. https://bit.ly/2k6EmhB
  65. Anderson ER. A systems approach to product design and development - an ergonomic perspective. International Journal of Industrial Engineering. 1990; 6: 1-8. https://bit.ly/2lE1mFk
  66. Fraser TM. Ergonomic principles in the design of hand tools. Occupational safety and health series. No. 44. 1980. https://bit.ly/2lLIxzK
  67. Altobelli F, Taylor HF, Bernold LE. Prototype robotic masonry system. Journal of Aerospace Engineering. 1993; 6: 19. https://bit.ly/2kzMc3B
  68. Abeysekera. Some ergonomics issues in the design of personal protective devices, ASTM International. Symposium Paper. 1993; 651-659. https://bit.ly/2lCwg0F
  69. Coughlan JL. Protective clothing development at New Zealand aluminium smelters Ltd. ASTM International. Symposium Paper. 1992, 252-265. https://bit.ly/2m8qh49
  70. Elatter SMS. Automation and robotics in construction: opportunities and challenges. Emirates Journal of Engineering Research. 2008; 13: 21-26. https://bit.ly/2k7tIY5  
  71. Attaianese E, Duca G, Coppola N, Heriti DMG, Pascale R, Troisi V. Assessment of ergonomic quality of hand held materials and packaging in construction. 2010. https://bit.ly/2m8qYdL
  72. Rwamamara R, Holzmann P. Reducing the human cost in construction through design. 2007; https://bit.ly/2m7uGnP
  73. Bust PD, Gibb AGF, Haslam RA. Manual handling of highway kerbs-focus group findings. Applied Ergonomics. 2005; 36: 417-425. https://bit.ly/2lEoCmA
  74. Li KW, Lee C. Postural analysis of four jobs on two building construction sites: an experience of using the owas method in Taiwan. J Occup Health 1999; 41: 183–190. https://bit.ly/2k7vhoV
  75. Strasser H, Wang B, Hoffmannt A. Electromyographic and subjective evaluation of hand tools: The example of masons' trowels. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. 1996; 18: 91-106. https://bit.ly/2lLKYlS
  76. Das B, Jongkol P, Ngui S. Snap-on-handles for a non-powered hacksaw: An ergonomics evaluation, redesign and testing. Ergonomics. 2005; 48: 78-97. https://bit.ly/2m8AKMT
  77. Spielholz P, Bao S, Howard N. A practical method for ergonomic and usability evaluation of hand tools: a comparison of three random orbital sander configuration. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2001; 16: 1043-1048. https://bit.ly/2kq5SXM
  78. Vink P, Miedema M, Koningsveld E, Van der Molen H. Physical effects of new devices for bricklayers. Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2002; 8: 71-82. https://bit.ly/2lZAFLc
  79. Strasser H. Assessment of the ergonomic quality of hand-held tools and computer input devices. Amsterdam, IOS Press. 2007; 1: https://bit.ly/2krtqvp
  80. Gambatese JA, Hinzw JW, Haas CT. Tool to design for construction worker safety. Journal of Architectural Engineering. ASCE. 1997; 3: 32-41. https://bit.ly/2kcnLcs
  81. Behm M. Linking construction fatalities to the design for construction safety concept. Safety Science. 2005; 43: 589-611. https://bit.ly/2kCLOBt
  82. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Ergonomics eTool: Solutions forElectricalContractors.MaterialsHandeling.2003,https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/electricalcontractors/materials/index.html. Accessed September 4, 2019.
  83. US 638987A, William Portem. Adjustable foldable horse for painters and plasterers, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1899.
  84. US 175095A, William Hoehm. Improvement in painter’s scaffold, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1876.
  85. US 686159A, Charles S Sprague. Platform for painters, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1901.
  86. US 612256A, Martin Mattson. Painter’s roof bracket, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1898.
  87. US 789640A, John Wain Wright. Jack for roofers and carpenters, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1905.
  88. US 4938355AJoseph Rocco. Carrying case for wet and dry painting tools, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1989.
  89. US 1667044 A, Oddo Charles A. Brush kit, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1928.
  90. US 20050120501A1. Multiple roller corner painting tool, Hugo Rivadeneira, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 2003.
  91. US 20150007404A1, Chad Prosser, Erick Rudnick. Adjustable holder assembly for painting tools, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 2012.
  92. US 5489051A, Carl D. Robinson. Painter’s pouch, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1993.
  93. US 6105813A, Bert H Abbey. Multipurpose paint bucket, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1997.
  94. US 5232137A, Mark E. Devine. Apparatus for carrying a spray paint, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1992.
  95. US 5385281A, Charles L. Byrd. Painter’s utility belt, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1994.
  96. US 5549216A, Robert Scholl. Paint holder and delivery device, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1995.
  97. US 6105813A Bert H Abbey. Multipurpose paint brush. US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1997.
  98. US 4951600A, Fujio Soshi, Masaharu Okuda, Koichizo Asami. Painting machine and control unit for use in a painting booth, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1988.
  99. US 5220762, Lehnert & Randall. Fibrous mat faced gypsum board exterior and interior finishing systems for buildings, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1993.
  100. US 5791109, Lehnert & Randall. Finishing and Roof deck systems containing fibrous mat-faced gypsum boards, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1998.
  101. US 53199001994, Lehnert & Randall. Finishing and Roof deck systems containing fibrous mat faced gypsum boards, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1994.
  102. US 4694624, Juhas. Modular Pre insulated pre fabricated building block, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1987.
  103. US 4501098, Gregory. Hybrid home construction technique, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1985.
  104. US 5131198, Ritchie & King. Corner bead for dry wall construction, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1992.
  105. US 4597813, Hipkins. Method of making a preformed building wall, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1986.
  106. US 3239982, Nicosia. Reinforced synthetic resin structural panel, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1966.
  107. US 5425207, Shayman. Prefabricated building sections made of gypsum, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1995.
  108. US 5950373, Hoff & Digemanse. Transportable structure kit, US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database. 1999.