Ergonomics Training in the Commercial Fishing Industry: Emerging Issues and Gaps in Knowledge

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bloswick, Donald S. ; Dzugan, Jerry
• Description:
  It is becoming more recognized that workers in the commercial fishing industry experience considerable exposure to risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders and that musculoskeletal disorders are a problem in the commercial fishing industry. Comprehensive industry-wide equipment modifications are difficult in this industry, which is often based on fishing operations by individual owner/operators. In addition, crewmembers sometimes operate as independent contractors on board and therefore assume additional personal responsibility for their own health and safety. It is proposed by the authors that the potential for musculoskeletal injuries can be reduced by increasing individual crewmembers' awareness of the ergonomic risks presented by the working environment and enhancing their understanding of improved work practices, and that one way to accomplish this is through the development of an ergonomic training program specific to the activities involved in commercial fishing. In 2012, The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) received an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Susan Harwood grant to develop and present an ergonomics training program specific to the various components of the commercial fishing industry. The intent of this ongoing program is to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders for persons involved in on-deck operations, as well as fish processing and related marine research operations. The training program included an initial overview of basic body biomechanics. This was followed by a discussion of how physical workplace factors such as force and posture can affect the potential for musculoskeletal stress during both lifting and hand-intensive activities and on-deck stretching exercises that can reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. A study of biomechanical risk factors for different on-deck commercial fishing activities was used as the basis for some of the training program content. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Ergonomics Hunting Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Biomechanics Fishing Industry MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Safety Education Training
• ISSN:
  1059-924X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Alaska ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  4 pdf pages
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067381
• Citation:
  J Agromedicine 2014 Apr; 19(2):87-89
• Contact Point Address:
  Donald S. Bloswick, PhD, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, 50 S. Central Campus Drive, Room 2110, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
• Email:
  bloswick@eng.utah.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Utah
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agromedicine
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6cd7e9f73c5f3811c3e92890be66f88b4972c6f7eb7ec36976ef6d27c1efe2c51c2dfd88173314ebe8d3c15b0a7956d197a56adb58b2710a7936b30cd572004c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230620/cdc_230620_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 358.85 KB ]