The effects of position and size of drywall on the physical demands for installers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchholz B ; Yuan L
• Description:
  The present study utilized an integrated biomechanical modeling approach that was previously developed by the researchers to investigate the effects of position and size of drywall on the physical demands for drywall installers. If the drywall sheets were stored vertically instead of flat, it reduced the required muscle contraction forces and joint reaction forces at the low back and shoulder approximately 8% on average during drywall installation. In particular, the L4/L5 disc compression forces and the absolute values of L4/L5 anterior-posterior shear forces decreased 6.1% and 8.5%, respectively, and at the shoulder during lifting the forces of rotator cuff muscles decreased 9.8%, and the coracohumeral ligament forces decreased 12.8%. The reaction forces at both the GH (glenohumeral) and SC (sternoclavicular) joints were reduced 7.2% and 3.6%, respectively. The larger size (e.g., 4x12 and 4x16) of drywall sheets increased the physical burden for the installers tremendously and could expose them to a higher risk of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders. In some simulations the average low back lateral shear forces increased to 1675 N and 2152 N, respectively. These forces are well above the 1000 N recommended for a single lift. These results indicated that it would be physically too difficult or even impossible for one person alone to lift bigger and heavier drywall sheets. Therefore, sound engineering (e.g., lifting tables) and/or administrative (e.g., two-person team work) solutions to handling oversized drywall sheets are strongly recommended. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Construction Industry Construction Materials Engineering Ergonomics Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Biomechanical-modeling Biomechanics Construction Construction-materials Construction-workers Control-technology Engineering-controls Injury-prevention Manual-lifting Manual-materials-handling Materials-handling Models Muscle-function Musculoskeletal-system Skeletal-stress

  More +
• ISSN:
  1071-1813
• Publisher:
  Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Louisiana ; Maryland ; Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  58
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045611
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 58th Annual Meeting, October 27-31, 2014, Chicago, Illinois. Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2014 Sep; 58:1612-1616
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090901
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 58th Annual Meeting, October 27-31, 2014, Chicago, Illinois
• End Date:
  20240831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:db3b57560fe423e65209beb311433c0d52316537cb2ae3d35cd6da535590a20f37532de8616653f6af2e9118a008939fa274e5d18ae2230b711cee3879675900
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200964/cdc_200964_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 570.29 KB ]