Reducing Ergonomic Hazards During Highway Tunnel Construction: A Case Study of a Ceiling Panel Assembly Operation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchholz B ; Paquet V
• Description:
  During many manual construction activities workers are exposed to ergonomic hazards that may increase their risk for developing a work-related musculoskeletal disorder. An evaluation of the job tasks involved in the ceiling panel assembly operation in the Third Harbor Tunnel of the Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) construction project in Boston, Massachusetts was carried out to identify and reduce the ergonomic hazards present in the tasks. Each assembly operation employed ten Iron Workers who each performed one of four job tasks. The researchers divided each job task into activities and evaluated each activity for ergonomic hazards using a systematic ergonomic job analysis. This analysis was used to identify the ergonomically hazardous activities and list the work-related causes of the hazards (e.g. equipment or tool design, work organization). In the analysis, hazards were identified for the trunk, legs, shoulders, hands/wrists and neck. These hazards included: repetitive motions of the wrist and arms, forceful whole body and hand exertions, awkward body postures, and localized contact stresses. The most frequently observed ergonomic hazards were static non-neutral body postures caused by low work heights, heavy pushing of ceiling panels on the assembly line, and forceful repetitive hand movements and contact stresses during bolting activities. Recommendations for the redesign of the assembly line to reduce the hazards were suggested. An operation was later developed at a different location in the tunnel which was identical to the first, with the exception of having several of the recommended design changes. A follow-up evaluation was performed on the redesigned operation and approximately 43% of the previously identified ergonomic hazards had been eliminated or reduced. This study demonstrates how ergonomic hazards can be systematically evaluated and reduced with relatively simple and inexpensive interventions for the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coal Coal Mining Engineering Hearing Hearing Loss Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Mining Noise Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Ergonomic Job Analysis Construction Construction Industry Ergonomics Hazard Identification Intervention Job Analysis MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Musculoskeletal System Disorders Posture

  More +
• Publisher:
  University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Case Studies
• 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:
  1-31
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056873
• Citation:
  Lowell, MA: University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1995 Dec; :1-31
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• 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 highway tunnel construction: a case study of a ceiling panel assembly operation
• End Date:
  19950929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:88d50bf7d4d551b9c062f906d1d568551c6636c06d61aee5b42022ce727ed1e4b41ab7193091f43d7ebac0edfbe8a2f784451ec9bc57b01d1c717f7d3ccc2689
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214371/cdc_214371_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.56 MB ]