Shipyard confined space welding intervention

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hudock, Stephen D. ; Johnston O ; Lowe, Brian D. ; Shulman S ; Wurzelbacher, Steven J.
• Description:
  Shipyard welders, especially those working in confined spaces, have not been adequately studied as an occupational group in terms of ergonomic factors affecting worker health, safety, and performance. These workers can weld under conditions that provide inadequate ventilation and require static muscular work and awkward postures. This study measured the effect of the welding process and ventilation method used in a confined workplace on physical workload, weld fume exposure, and weld performance. Nine male welders from the participating shipyard performed four wire-fed welding tasks and four stick-welding tasks in a functional mockup, constructed by NIOSH, to match actual dimensions of the double-hull honeycomb (0.6 m x 0.6 m x 4.9 m). During these tasks, the ventilation method was alternated between a standard air horn and a prototype fresh air diffuser. Heart rate, electromyographic (EMG) activity, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), discomfort assessment surveys (DAS), total personal particulate concentrations, and area elemental concentrations were recorded for each task. In addition, welding performance in terms of weld quality and efficiency were determined for each task. Statistical analysis indicated that weld process had a significant effect on workload and weld performance. Wire welding was associated with higher RPEs (p = 0.0001), general DAS outcome (p = 0.0076), and weld efficiency (p = 0.0335), while stick welding was associated with higher weld quality (p = 0.0001). EMG analyses showed that stick welding was associated with greater localized muscle fatigue than wire welding. The standard air horn ventilation method was associated with lower total particulate concentrations (p = 0.0282). This study suggested that engineering interventions for confined space welders involving weld process and ventilation method changes should be considered carefully due to potential impact on workload, weld fume exposure, and weld performance. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Cardiovascular System Confined Spaces Electrocardiography Engineering Ergonomics Metals Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Ships Ventilation Welding

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• Keywords:
  Confined-spaces Control-technology Fumes Heart-rate Human-factors-engineering Metal-fumes Muscle-tension Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Particulates Physiological-effects Posture Shipyard-industry Shipyard-workers Shipyards Task-performance Ventilation-systems Welders Welding-equipment Work-analysis

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• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DPSE - Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering ; DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  61
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041535
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2000 May; :61
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1a42636da379cd7ee9022d47ce4214d648da75b165553833a1c9f357948868bf3ef719e695f09d56e1539a2da3ef6b40442fabaf5fc6b14c37221c926a07bf39
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194078/cdc_194078_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 990.50 KB ]