Evaluating the Impact of Personal Protective Equipment on Ladder Task Accuracy and Perceived Ergonomics

Details

• Personal Author:
  Iyer, Hari ; Jeong, Heejin
• Description:
  This study examines how personal protective equipment (PPE) influences measurement accuracy and perceived ergonomics in ladder-based tasks. Twenty-four participants performed tasks under four PPE configurations using anti-slip gloves and sole grips while assessing ceiling-mounted shapes from a ladder. Measurement accuracy was evaluated against predefined ground truth values, and participants rated their confidence, task difficulty, and risk perception. Results showed a mean absolute error of 0.121 cm and a root mean square error of 0.248 cm. Higher confidence during ladder ascent was strongly correlated with greater accuracy (r = -0.75), while increased perceptions of difficulty and risk were associated with larger measurement deviations (r = 0.52 and 0.34, respectively). These findings suggest that both physical and cognitive factors play a significant role in task performance. No overconfidence effects were observed, indicating that accurate self-assessment contributes positively to task precision. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Cognition
  • Ergonomics
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Human factors engineering; Personal protective equipment; PPE; Ergonomics; Task performance; Ladders; Cognitive function;
  • Author Keywords: occupation/industry; physical ergonomics
• Source:
  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 69th Annual Meeting, October 13-17, 2025, Chicago, Illinois. Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2025 Sep; 69(1):2038-2040
• ISSN:
  1071-1813
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; California ; San Francisco Region OSHA
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3 pdf pages
• Volume:
  69
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071638
• Contact Point Address:
  Hari Iyer, The Polytechnic School, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University, 7418 E. Innovation Way South, Mesa, AZ 85212-6032, USA
• Email:
  hniyer@asu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• End Date:
  20270630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259411/cdc_259411_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 389.43 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ab65f16832be8dca604f52798816f0169d7aeeb1471023acfcf10da4ef20cd46f6dc8b84d8b53a3dcf558b079f1a40618ddfb12f4fd2012d16639340e2b297e2