An Ergonomic Evaluation of Excavating Operations: A Pilot Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchholz B ; Kittusamy, Nanda K.
• Description:
  Previous studies indicate that operators of heavy construction equipment are afflicted by musculoskeletal injuries of the arms, shoulders, neck, and lower back. These injuries appear to be due to excessive periods of sitting (static posture), work intensity, whole-body vibration, high resistance levers, repetitive motions, and awkward postures. Although numerous studies have shown an association between operation of heavy construction equipment and symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders, very little research has been performed that systematically characterizes operating engineers' exposure to ergonomic hazards. The objective of this study was to systematically characterize the ergonomic hazards associated with excavating operations. As such, the following were performed: (1) vibrations were measured at the operator/seat interface (X, Y, and Z axes), and at the floor of the cab (Z axis); (2) psychophysical ratings of whole-body vibration (WBV) level and overall seat design were obtained; and (3) postural assessments of the job were made. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Ergonomics Occupational Health Safety Vibration
• Keywords:
  Construction-equipment Construction-industry Construction-workers Equipment-design Equipment-operators Humans Vibration-exposure
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  1047-322X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  SRL - Spokane Research Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  16
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20021772
• Citation:
  Appl Occup Environ Hyg 2001 Jul; 16(7):723-726
• Editor(s):
  Schneider SP
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6dd70437f8ebef3db2b97a320813c67852a8920e2a498989732d5c555104908f79a942c6f910c7f3def1681f435fd6121382d7c04fb9f5f6683897932a6ac988
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220508/cdc_220508_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 328.15 KB ]