Method for Quantitatively Assessing Physical Risk Factors During Variable Noncyclic Work

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anton D ; Cook TM ; Merlino LA ; Rosecrance JC
• Description:
  Objectives: Assessing exposure to physical risk factors during variable noncyclic work can be problematic. The purpose of this study was to modify an existing data reduction method for directly quantifying physical exposures during variable noncyclic work. Methods: Myoelectric activity of the finger flexors of two groups of workers, heavy equipment operators (N=25) and mechanics (N=25), was sampled to determine the intensity and duration of forceful exertions during normal tasks. Data were reduced with a modification of the exposure variation analysis (EVA), called clustered EVA (CEVA), using three intensity and two duration categories. A two-way, mixed-effects, repeated-measures analysis of variance evaluated the percentage of sampled work time in each CEVA category. Results: CEVA was able to quantify variable noncyclic work, and it contrasted the work of the two groups, with simple effects significantly different for all the exposure categories. The mechanics performed high-intensity short-duration contractions 9.1% of the time, whereas the operators had similar contractions only 1.8% of the time. Conversely, the operators used low-intensity contractions of prolonged duration over 81% of the time, compared with only 43% for the mechanics. Conclusions: CEVA is a useful modification of EVA for contrasting the noncyclic work typical of understudied industries like construction. A simplification of electromyography with summary measures such as CEVA provides a comprehensible, yet accurate measure of forceful exertions during worktasks. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Construction Materials Environmental Monitoring Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Safety Management

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Construction Work Construction Construction-equipment Construction-industry Construction-materials Construction-workers Electromyography Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Exposure-methods Exposure Assessment Force Injuries Injury-prevention Muscle-function Muscle-stress Muscular-disorders Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Musculoskeletal Disorder Noncyclic Work Occupational-accidents Occupational-exposure Occupational-hazards Occupational-health Occupational-safety-programs Occupational-sociology Occupations Physical Risk Factor Quantitative Assessment Risk-analysis Risk-factors Safety-climate Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Safety-personnel Safety-practices Safety-programs

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• ISSN:
  0355-3140
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Iowa ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  354-362
• Volume:
  29
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035159
• Citation:
  Scand J Work Environ Health 2003 Oct; 29(5):354-362
• Contact Point Address:
  D. Anton, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-5000
• Email:
  dan-anton@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  The Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• End Date:
  20050630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:76e47af1cbcf6d78809e8dce8b573706df77625be41b356ed353e6d68663e4f04ad370d924f3cafa5bbb70ab271f6db82632d4a17ec5bdddb22af8b8d062c4af
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187101/cdc_187101_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 133.01 KB ]