Older Worker Safe Agricultural Design Awareness

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bobick, Thomas G. ; Etherton J ; Myers J
• Description:
  Older people (55 and older) work in many industries, but agriculture is one in which the average age has been increasing. Older workers often perform the same manual work tasks that younger people perform. Objectively, redesign of some of these tasks to accommodate older workers could prevent injuries and fatalities. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities data indicate a fatality rate in agriculture for ages 55-64 as 26.5 fatalities/100,000 workers and for age 65+ as 52.3. During 1985 to 1987, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Supplementary Data System reported 5544 workers' compensation cases from 21 States for people over the age of 54 working in crop production (SIC 01), livestock production (SIC 02), and agricultural services (SIC 07). Of these injuries to older people working in agriculture, 31.3% (n = 1735) were sprain-strains. Two types of manual tasks in the agriculture industry 1) lifting tasks and 2) manual adjustment tasks for adjustable rollover protective structures (ROPS), provide examples of tasks needing older worker design awareness. Agricultural lifting tasks for older people should be modified to match NIOSH criteria. For manual adjustment tasks for adjustable ROPS, older operators prefer an adjustable ROPS that is easier to lift, or one that would deploy, and provide protection automatically. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Age Factors Agriculture Construction Industry Epidemiology Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Rates Accident Statistics Age Factors Agricultural Industry Agricultural Machinery Construction Industry Fatalities Machine Operation Rollover Protective Structures ROPS Tractors

  More +
• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053442
• Citation:
  Public Health and Diversity: Opportunities for Equity, APHA 122nd Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 30 - November 3, 1994, Washington, DC. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 1994 Oct; :200
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Public Health and Diversity: Opportunities for Equity, APHA 122nd Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 30 - November 3, 1994, Washington, DC
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:30743b932df9a71f54efd71418acef0c5216223b5d796775d5e4756955dd85ac6aa9308c66d644b3b5e2d3064d2c7acf7ffc3a8b5f7403391b90036e989b236e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216194/cdc_216194_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.44 MB ]