Pushing and pulling of trolleys on board aircraft (follow-on project)

During short-haul flights, service tasks are increasingly performed during the climb and descent phases of the aircraft. These tasks generally involve the use of catering trolleys. In addition to the body posture, the loading of the trolley, the inclination of the aircraft and the geometrical dimensions determine the load upon the musculoskeletal system.

A model preliminary study conducted in 1999 examined the load upon air stewardesses during the pushing and pulling of trolleys. At the request of the then Berufsgenossenschaft für Fahrzeughaltungen - BGF and a number of airlines, a follow-on project was launched in 2001 in which a broader base of data was to provide better statistical validation of the stress values. For this purpose, a laboratory arrangement was developed in which musculoskeletal load arising during the pushing and pulling of trolleys was measured on a total of 25 air stewardesses and stewards (see image, top). In the process, the body postures and movements were measured by means of the CUELA system and the forces applied by means of specially developed three-component force sensors (see image, bottom). The spinal loads are determined from the measured data by means of biomechanical model analyses. Based upon ergonomic stress limit values, guidance values are to be defined for the handling of trolleys on board aircraft. At the same time, the results are to contribute to better organization of work and to improved movement behaviour, in order for strain to be avoided and the good health and well-being of air stewardesses and stewards promoted.

Research partners:

• Berufsgenossenschaft für Transport und Verkehrswirtschaft (German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the transport industry)
• IfADo - Institut für Arbeitsphysiologie Dortmund (Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at Dortmund Technical University)
• IAD - Institut für Arbeitswissenschaft TU Darmstadt (Institute of Ergonomics at Darmstadt University of Technology)

Participating airlines:

• Eurowings
• Hapag Lloyd
• Lufthansa CityLine
• Lufthansa
• LTU