Exploring physical exposures and identifying high-risk work tasks within the floor layer trade

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchholz B ; Dale, Ann M. ; Descatha A ; Evanoff B ; McGaha J ; Miller K ; Welch L
• Description:
  INTRODUCTION: Floor layers have high rates of musculoskeletal disorders yet few studies have examined their work exposures. This study used observational methods to describe physical exposures within floor laying tasks. METHODS: We analyzed 45 videos from 32 floor layers using Multimedia-Video Task Analysis software to determine the time in task, forces, postures, and repetitive hand movements for installation of four common flooring materials. We used the WISHA checklists to define exposure thresholds. RESULTS: Most workers (91%) met the caution threshold for one or more exposures. Workers showed high exposures in multiple body parts with variability in exposures across tasks and for different materials. Prolonged exposures were seen for kneeling, poor neck and low back postures, and intermittent but frequent hand grip forces. CONCLUSIONS: Floor layers experience prolonged awkward postures and high force physical exposures in multiple body parts, which probably contribute to their high rates of musculoskeletal disorders. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Environmental Monitoring Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Musculoskeletal Disorders Construction-industry Construction-workers Construction Trades Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Floors Hand-injuries Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Observational Assessment Physical-reactions Physical-stress Physiological-effects Physiology Posture Repetitive-work Risk-factors Task-performance Work-environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Massachusetts ; Missouri ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  45
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045486
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2014 Jul; 45(4):857-864
• Contact Point Address:
  Ann Marie Dale, Washington University School of Medicine, Division of General Medical Sciences, Campus Box 8005, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63110
• Email:
  adale@dom.wustl.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Manufacturing
• Performing Organization:
  Washington University - St. Louis, Missouri
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040601
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20151231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f3cbd5bf69fa62b8b9532ccb63d701d8dd1d7b13c40d130d7b7ee60027e90c98f44e429df3a3f9860d85b0a6f90f445a6e66f8dd6b58af65e018da877bf99da0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200891/cdc_200891_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 494.24 KB ]