Are Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Claims Related to Risk Factors in Workplaces of the Manufacturing Industry?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bao S ; Howard N ; Lin J-H
• Description:
  Objectives: Varied work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) claim rates were found between companies even when they were in the same sectors with similar sizes. This study aimed to (i) identify common risk factors for back, shoulder, hand/wrist, and knee WMSDs among manufacturing jobs, and (ii) characterize the biomechanical exposures in jobs and work organizational practices between high and low WMSD claim rate companies so that more focused, industry-specific intervention strategies may be developed. Methods: Using historical workers' compensation data, manufacturing companies were divided into two paired groups (low and high in the lower 25%ile and higher 75%ile, respectively). On-site job evaluations were conducted in 16 companies to determine job biomechanical risk levels. Management and workers' representatives in 32 paired companies were interviewed to identify possible differences between management strategies and management/worker relationships. A total of 39 injured workers were also interviewed to gather information of self-reported injury causes and suggested preventive measures. Results: Analyses of 432 job evaluations showed that more jobs had higher risk levels of prolonged standing and heavy lifting in the high back WMSD claim rate companies than the low claim rate ones. No high biomechanical risk factors were found to be associated with jobs in high shoulder claim rate companies. High repetition, pinch force, and Strain Index were associated with high hand/ wrist WMSD claim rate companies. High work pace and job stress were common among high knee WMSD claim rate companies. There were no statistically significant differences for the organizational factors between high and low WMSD claim rate companies. Heavy lifting, fast work pace, high hand/ wrist repetition, high hand force, and awkward shoulder postures were identified as major contributing factors by the injured workers. Conclusions: High WMSD claim rate companies appeared to have more high biomechanical exposure jobs than low WMSD claim rate companies. Available job evaluation methods for the low back and hand/wrists are satisfactory in quantifying job risk levels in the manufacturing industry. Research into more sensitive job evaluation methods for the shoulder and knee are needed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Engineering Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Company Safety Culture Biomechanics Ergonomics Ergonomics Estimation Ergonomics Intervention Exposure Assessment Job Hazard Job Stress Manufacturing MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Psychosocial Factors Repetitive Work WMSD Epidemiology Work Organization

  More +
• ISSN:
  2398-7308
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  152-164
• Volume:
  64
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057969
• Citation:
  Ann Work Expo Health 2020 Mar; 64(2):152-164
• Contact Point Address:
  Stephen Bao, SHARP Program, PO Box 44330, Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, Olympia, WA 98504-4330
• Email:
  baos235@lni.wa.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Work Exposures and Health
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:df0495d8262aa6226c8837ed52323969c634501770cd13e126986661d874932407f4d763ec64a08bf16aabe47c244dddaa1e482fe0d94d2ef3df4b2585e4a286
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215168/cdc_215168_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 233.65 KB ]