Reducing Ergonomic Hazards During Ceiling Module Assembly and Installation for Walsh Construction Company

Details

• Personal Author:
  Grasso M ; Paquet V ; Rodwell W
• Description:
  An increasing frequency of musculoskeletal injuries among Ironworkers (Local 7) in Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) construction project prompted Mike Joel, Site Safety Manager for Walsh Construction Company, to request an analysis of the jobs involved with the project's ceiling assembly and erection operations. Research assistants from the Construction Occupational Health Project (COHP) at the Department of Work Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell performed ergonomic job analyses (EJAs) for jobs tasks required for the ceiling module assembly and installation operations. One assembly operation (East Boston - West Bound) and one installation operation (South Boston - West Bound) were evaluated. Three research assistants observed the operations for several days. The operations were divided into to job tasks. The hazardous activities for each job task were then identified. The most important ergonomic hazards included high frequency and duration of non-neutral trunk, arm and leg postures during almost all job tasks and repetitive hand/wrist motions during bolting activities. This work demonstrates how ergonomic hazards can be systematically evaluated and provides suggestions to reduce these hazards to prevent musculoskeletal injuries in the future. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Engineering Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Mining Noise Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Construction Workers Ergonomics Iron Workers MSD Musculoskeletal System Disorders Posture Repetitive Work
• Publisher:
  University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056859
• Citation:
  Lowell, MA: University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1995 Aug; :1-12
• Contact Point Address:
  Susan Moir, Director, Construction Occupational Health Project, Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts Lowell, College of Engineering, 1 University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities
• Performing Organization:
  Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19920930
• Source Full Name:
  Reducing ergonomic hazards during ceiling module assembly and installation for Walsh Construction Company
• End Date:
  19950929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f5beff8f569abaf407622ef8f9a8b1902798572b377e97e548a1369fd46ea367ef7f4ecd0d4b83b2d1cb6c5b3f5c8ff53b64956025242d40f35aa642b5e7704e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214357/cdc_214357_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.94 MB ]