Ergonomics investigation of retail ice cream operations

A comprehensive ergonomics evaluation of retail ice cream shops, including field and laboratory data collection, was conducted using a human:workplace model approach to ergonomics practice. The goal of the evaluation was to p rovide recommendations to enhance the health, safety, and productivity of s hop employees. Active and passive surveillance and facility walk-throughs w ere used to guide the selection of analyses. A primary focus of the investi gation was quantifying the task demands of scooping ice cream, which have n ot been documented in the literature. This goal was accomplished through th e use of a custom-designed instrumented ice cream scoop. Data were collecte d at an ice cream shop under typical conditions, while the laboratory exper iment investigated task demands of ice cream scooping over a range of reali stic temperatures. Manual materials handling task analyses and anthropometr ic evaluations comprised the majority of other analyses performed. Recommen dations are presented that are applicable to the operation of retail ice cr eam shops that serve hard (i.e., scooped) ice cream. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scie nce Ltd. All rights reserved.