Ergonomic Walkthrough Evaluation of Drywall Tasks

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chiou S ; Pan, Christopher S.
• Description:
  Drywall installers and finishers are constantly exposed to ergonomic job risk factors which may result in adverse health and safety outcomes such as cumulative traumatic disorders and slip/fall injuries. The objective of this study was to determine and characterize the ergonomic risk factors of drywall tasks. The risk factors associated with drywall tools and assistive devices (e.g., stilts) were also identified. Thirty-one workers at two different construction sites were observed and videotaped while performing their routine drywall tasks. An ergonomic walkthrough checklist was-used to obtain an overview of the risk factors that affect the workers who work specifically in the drywall industry. Based on the checklist data, drywall tasks were rank-ordered by the scores obtained for stressful postures of five body parts: neck/shoulders, elbow, back, hips/legs, and wrists. In addition, the repetitive motions were rank-ordered for torso, lower extremities and upper extremities. A preliminary analysis indicates that the most stressful body part was neck/shoulder followed by elbow. The upper extremity repetitiveness of drywall finishing tasks were higher than that for the installation tasks. Results from this study are useful in identifying the specific features of drywall tasks that are contributing to the ergonomic risks. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Cumulative Trauma Disorders Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Construction Industry Construction Workers Cumulative Trauma Cumulative Trauma Disorders Injuries Injury Prevention Job Stress Musculoskeletal System Disorders Neck Injuries Risk Factors Traumatic Injuries

  More +
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023575
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the 12th Annual Construction, Safety and Health Conference and Exposition, May 21-23, 2002, Rosemont, Illinois. 2002 May; :335
• Contact Point Address:
  Christopher Pan, Ph.D., Division of Safety Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1095 Willowdale Road M/S G800, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  cpan@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Traumatic Injuries ; Research Tools and Approaches: Control Technology and Personal Protective Equipment
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the 12th Annual Construction, Safety and Health Conference and Exposition, May 21-23, 2002, Rosemont, Illinois
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8eb7386790ca7b2768d6861b84aafb47e5e70c960d97ee3f5fb9e86f5600eecbcf5bce7a81cc3ef87379ba8bd0bfbb06207c7ec2efa85e0f4bbdeec8076114e8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195929/cdc_195929_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 359.88 KB ]