Validity of fixed-interval observations for postural assessment in construction work

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchholz B ; Paquet VL ; Punnett, Laura ; Buchholz B ; Paquet VL ; Punnett, Laura
• Description:
  While observing six simulated construction tasks in the field, trained analysts recorded arm, trunk and leg postures categorically with two fixed-interval observational protocols. Observations were compared to measurements obtained with an electronic postural assessment system coupled with video analysis. The electronic postural assessment system consisted of electronic inclinometers to measure upper arm posture, knee flexion and trunk flexion, coveralls to house the inclinometer wiring, and an eletrogoniometric system to measure trunk lateral bending and twisting. Video analysis included frozen-frame analysis that corresponded to the moment of observation and simulated real-time analysis. Measurements were made on five male participants who each performed three tasks representative of construction laborers' work. Agreement among the observational and reference methods was generally high, although significant differences in measured frequency of exposure existed for knee flexion, trunk lateral bending and trunk twisting. The results suggest that, under appropriate conditions, discrete observations can be used to obtain reasonably accurate estimates of exposure frequency for broad categories of certain body postures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Construction Industry Electrophysiology Environmental Monitoring Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Analytical-processes Author Keywords: Posture Analysis Biomechanics Body-regions Construction Construction-industry Construction-workers Electrogoniometry Electrophysiological-measurements Ergonomic Assessment Exposure-assessment Human-factors-engineering Measurement-equipment Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Observation Posture Sampling Sampling-methods Work Sampling

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• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Maryland ; Massachusetts ; New York ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  215-224
• Volume:
  32
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040164
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2001 Jun; 32(3):215-224
• Contact Point Address:
  Victor L. Paquet, Department of Industrial Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, 342 Bell Hall, P.O. Box 602050, Buffalo, NY 14260-2050, USA
• Email:
  vpaquet@eng.buffalo.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Performing Organization:
  Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19950701
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20010630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:05a61249946a1251853f302dabbd8f8659c14966bac533c56dc56d046816ffd2fe10ef5d91b4a9bf23449110c999d5c9fc29246f30216c52c06370b5a789adb5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193119/cdc_193119_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 269.01 KB ]