Physical ergonomic hazards in highway tunnel construction: overview from the Construction Occupational Health Program

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchholz B ; Fulmer S ; Marucci-Wellman H ; Moir S ; Paquet V ; Punnett, Laura ; Tak S ; Wegman, David H.
• Description:
  This report provides an overview of physical ergonomic exposures in highway construction work across trades and major operations. For each operation, the observational method "PATH" (Posture, Activity, Tools and Handling) was used to estimate the percentage of time that workers spent in specific tasks and with exposure to awkward postures and load handling. The observations were carried out on 73 different days, typically for about 4 h per day, covering 120 construction workers in 5 different trades: laborers, carpenters, ironworkers, plasterers, and tilers. Non-neutral trunk postures (forward or sideways flexion or twisting) were frequently observed, representing over 40% of observations for all trades except laborers (28%). Kneeling and squatting were common in all operations, especially tiling and underground utility relocation work. Handling loads was frequent, especially for plasterers and tilers, with a range of load weights but most often under 15 pounds. The results of this study provide quantitative evidence that workers in highway tunnel construction operations are exposed to ergonomic factors known to present significant health hazards. Numerous opportunities exist for the development and implementation of ergonomic interventions to protect the health and safety of construction workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Construction Industry Environmental Monitoring Ergonomics Hazardous Substances Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: PATH Biomechanics Construction Construction-workers Exposure-assessment Health-hazards Highway Tunnel Construction Human-factors-engineering Job-analysis Materials-handling Operation Physical-capacity Postural Load Posture Quantitative-analysis Task-performance Tools Trade Tunnel-workers Tunneling Work-intervals

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• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Massachusetts ; New York ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038768
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2011 Jul; 42(5):665-671
• Contact Point Address:
  SangWoo Tak, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, R-17, Cincinnati OH 45226, USA
• Email:
  STak@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities
• Performing Organization:
  The Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19920930
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• End Date:
  19950929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fc9e852b9e330d2c065db4b3ac60967f59e0f1b90304fcd13e6876026addff9afa8c23d8b2e970992a3f674c83389e1adf8cd21fd5501db49352bb5369c0ee55
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192366/cdc_192366_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 801.73 KB ]