Ergonomic Evaluation of Masons Laying Concrete Masonry Units and Autoclaved Aerated Concrete

Details

• Personal Author:
  Amasay T ; Hess JA ; Kincl, Laurel ; Wolfe P ; Amasay T ; Hess JA ; Kincl, Laurel ; Wolfe P
• Description:
  Masons working with concrete masonry unit block have high rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders to the low back and shoulders associated with repetitively lifting and buttering heavy block. A new material, autoclaved aerated concrete, may reduce the risk of shoulder and back injury but, ergonomic evaluation is needed. This study evaluated shoulder exposure parameters, low back stress, and worker perceptions in two groups of journey level masons, one using CMU and the other using AAC block. Results indicate that for the left arm AAC masons spent significantly more time than CMU masons in static (38.2% versus 31.1%, respectively), and less time in slow motions (48.2% versus 52.2%, respectively) and faster motions (13.6% versus 16.7%, respectively) (p<0.05). CMU masons had significantly greater shoulder and low back pain (p=0.009) and they held block significantly longer than AAC masons (p<0.001). Low back compressive forces were high for both materials. Masons handling AAC demonstrated less left upper extremity stress but both materials were estimated to be hazardous to the low back. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Construction Materials Epidemiology Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Masonry Biological-effects Construction Construction-industry Construction-materials Construction-workers Injuries Injury-prevention Low Back Injury Masons Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Occupational-accidents Occupational-hazards Occupations Physical-stress Repetitive-work Risk-analysis Risk-factors Shoulder Injury Statistical-analysis Work-analysis Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices

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• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Maryland ; Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  477-483
• Volume:
  41
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036838
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2010 May; 41(3):477-483
• Contact Point Address:
  Jennifer A. Hess, Labor Education and Research Center, 1289 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1289
• Email:
  jhessdc@gmail.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040801
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20090630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f255ca2e4468845aa623471093db7f44649abd7c8ec50db3d764ebcc92b3f9920bb1fa459c29983e911f4327b668c4142fd1db543d6b2cf0d5d243f58eb3f476
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/188092/cdc_188092_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 493.02 KB ]