The work conditions in which supermarket checkout operators perform activities have been a recent concern to specialists. This research was carried out in eight supermarkets of two cities in Brazil with the aim of knowing the conditions under which operators work, in order to detect risk factors and to propose procedures that could eliminate or minimize their adverse effects on workers. Structured questionnaire and the RULA method was applied to a sample of 80 workers. Major findings of the study as follows: furniture was not adapted to anthropometric characteristics of the workers, most of analyzed positions are not adequate, there was no rotation or pauses that could reduce the risk, there was a significant amount of mental and physical work overload. We conclude that, under current conditions, checkout operations at supermarkets poses health risk to operators.
Checkout; risks; ergonomics
