Overexertion Injuries Among Construction Workers: Research Needs and Priorities

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hsiao H ; Stanevich, Ronald L.
• Description:
  Objectives: To identify high-risk overexertion injury occupations in the construction industry. Methods: The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Supplementary Data System and occupational employment data obtained through U.S. Department of Labor (1990) and U.S. Department of Commerce (1990) were used as the primary information sources for this investigation. A frequency-weighted occupation-specific rating technique was developed to identify occupations with high risk for sustaining an overexertion injury within the construction industry. Results: Ten occupations have been identified as high-potential-risk groups. They are construction laborers, carpenters, plumbers, drywall installers, roofers, electricians, miscellaneous construction trades workers, structural metal workers, heating and air conditioning mechanics, and carpet installers. These 10 occupations represent an estimated 37.6% of the construction industry workforce and 74.2% of the overexertion injuries. In general, the leading overexertion exposure was lifting objects. 309 The leading injured body part was the back. The injury sources varied among occupations. Conclusions: Occupation-specific task and activity investigation and analyses for each of the 10 occupations should be the next area of research. Subsequent ergonomic studies should involve laboratory testing of alternative assistant devices, work procedures, or both for the identified stressful tasks. Intervention studies should then apply the laboratory findings within the selected occupations to evaluate their utility and effectiveness in the workplace for reducing musculoskeletal injuries to construction workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Back Injuries Construction Industry Construction Workers Lifting Manual Materials Handling MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Occupations Overexertion
• Publisher:
  Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Illinois ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; 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:20059845
• Citation:
  Second World Conference on Injury Control, May 20-23, 1993, Atlanta, Georgia. Des Plaines, IL: Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, 1993 May; :309
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Second World Conference on Injury Control, May 20-23, 1993, Atlanta, Georgia
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a0d3d8a2fa84aa6227abb92fb9a2ba67a0b4ef69bd80474e72ec086f5cde90766af47b0f65e43bd34f971cd237571311d2ac71ee59c88941c7ec986690581437
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223911/cdc_223911_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 859.05 KB ]