Relationships Between Observational Estimates and Physical Measurements of Upper Limb Activity

Details

• Personal Author:
  Krieg EF ; Lowe, Brian D.
• Description:
  This study examined the internal validity of observational-based ergonomic job analysis methods for assessing upper limb force exertion and repetitive motion. Six manual tasks were performed by multiple 'workers' while direct measurements were made to quantify force exertion and kinematics of the upper limb. Observational-based analyses of force and upper limb motion/repetition were conducted by 29 professional ergonomists. These analysts overestimated the magnitude of individual force exertions - temporal aspects of force exertion ( duty cycle) were estimated more accurately. Estimates of the relative severity of repetitive motions among the jobs were accurate. Absolute counts of repetitive motions were less accurate. Modest correlations (r(2) = 0.28 to r(2) = 0.50) were observed between ratings of hand activity level and measured joint velocities. Ergonomic job analyses relying on systematic observation should be applied and interpreted with consideration given to the capabilities and limitations of analysts in estimating the physical risk factors. These findings are relevant to a better understanding of the internal validity of ergonomic job analysis methods based on systematic observation. See corrigundum: Ergonomics 2009 Sep; 52(9):1183 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00140130903148761. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Cumulative Trauma Disorders Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Repetition Biological-systems Biomechanical-engineering Biomechanics Body-mechanics Cumulative-trauma Cumulative-trauma-disorders Force Exertion Muscle-function Muscle-physiology Muscle-stress Muscles Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Physiological-factors Posture Repetitive-work Statistical-analysis Upper Limb WMSD Risk Factors Work-analysis Work-environment Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices Worker-health Workplace-monitoring Workplace-studies

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• ISSN:
  0014-0139
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035483
• Citation:
  Ergonomics 2009 May; 52(5):569-583
• Contact Point Address:
  Brian D. Lowe, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DART, 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS C-24, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  blowe@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Ergonomics
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:816e8fc9b7caad03541285ded824aa866788cb5e223a0a337f339dbb55a513ff42b3351a7bf7dd2b66e61973d6a0f6fa2728de7009b02228a6daa75346af0f12
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187325/cdc_187325_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 853.18 KB ]