Development and Application of an Innovative Instrument to Assess Work Environment Factors for Injury Prevention in the Food Service Industry

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burke L ; Dennerlein, Jack T. ; Grant M ; Markkanen, Pia ; Peters SE ; Sorensen, Glorian ; Wagner, Gregory R. ; Wallace L
• Description:
  Background: With the growth the food service industry and associated high injury and illness rates, there is a need to assess workplace factors that contribute to injury prevention. Objective: The objective of this report is to describe the development, application, and utility of a new instrument to evaluate ergonomics and safety for food service workers. Methods: Starting with a similar tool developed for use in healthcare, a new tool was designed through a collaborative, participatory process with the stakeholders from a collaborating food service company. The new instrument enables the identification and assessment of key safety and health factors through a focused walkthrough of the physical work environment, and structured interviews exploring the organizational work environment. The researchers applied the instrument at 10 of the partnering company's worksites. Results: The instrument identified factors related to both the physical work environment and organizational and contextual environment (e.g., vendor-client relationships) impacting worker safety and health. Conclusions: Modern assessment approaches should address both the physical and organizational aspects of the work environment, and consider the context complexities in which the worksites and the industry operate. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Food Handling Food Industry Occupational Health Preventive Medicine Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Human Factors Food Services Injuries Injury Prevention Musculoskeletal Disorders Occupational Injuries Occupational Safety And Health Preventive Measures Risk Assessment Safety Management Work Environment Worker Health Workers Worker Safety Work Organization

  More +
• ISSN:
  1051-9815
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  68
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062195
• Citation:
  Work 2021 Mar; 68(3):641-651
• Contact Point Address:
  Pia Markkanen, Department of Public Health, Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Wannalancit Mills, 5th Floor, (#520), 600 Suffolk Street, MA 01854
• Email:
  Pia_Markkanen@uml.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Performing Organization:
  Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160801
• Source Full Name:
  Work
• End Date:
  20200731
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4de798b9383babe69a704de4aa2ed7b1c3ba0ac7bc2a61182969906e77894c68a8f1ce59298dd983b7ed29cc0cd7610679698b52d2e237b925aa5ae19d7c309a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225491/cdc_225491_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 86.91 KB ]