Use of the CABS Methodology to Assess Biomechanical Stress in Commercial Crab Fishermen

Details

• Personal Author:
  Kucera K ; Loomis D ; Mirka GA ; Shin G
• Description:
  Commercial fishing is a job characterized by long hours in an unpredictable, dynamic natural environment and variable demands placed on the musculoskeletal system, requiring strength, coordination, and endurance. The focus of this project was in the quantification of the biomechanical stresses placed on the lumbar spine during the work activities of commercial crab fishermen. The continuous assessment of back stress (CABS) methodology was used to develop distributions describing the amount of time that each of the crew members on a two- or three-man crabbing crew spend at various levels of low back stress. The results of this analysis, expressed in terms of time-weighted histograms, show significant inter and intra-crewmember variability in the stress measures during regular daily work activities. For the three man crew, the captain has relatively low stress levels throughout the work day, while the mate performs high force (up to 30 kg), dynamic exertions while pulling the crab pots from the water up into the boat and high loads (20-40 kg) during the loading and unloading of the boat in the morning and evening, respectively. The third man of the crew experiences static awkward postures (forward flexed postures held for up to 5 min at a time) as he sorts and packs the crabs. For the two-man crew, the results show a more even distribution of the high stress activities between the crewmembers. The application of the results of this analysis for prioritization of work tasks for ergonomic intervention is discussed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Biomechanical Phenomena Environmental Health Ergonomics Hunting Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Nervous System Occupational Health Safety

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• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Back-injuries Biomechanics Environmental-factors Fishing-industry Humans Injury-prevention Muscle-function Musculoskeletal-system Posture Spinal-cord Stress

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• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  61-70
• Volume:
  36
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028875
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2005 Jan; 36(1):61-70
• Contact Point Address:
  Department of Industrial Engineering, North Carolina State University, Box 7906, Raleigh, NC 27695-7906, USA
• Email:
  mirka@eos.ncsu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Traumatic Injuries
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  1141 - Fishing - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20000601
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20030531
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bb574116eaf33283e1874e42d36a5e176409cebec741f11337a5e68d2dc2327cd1c77c9ef5107ac346d5c8d09b97db7a9a2de68d953b369380818b6b522b192f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189971/cdc_189971_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 299.32 KB ]