Comparing the results of eight methods used to evaluate risk factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders

Abstract This paper presents a comparison between eight different methods for determining risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The Quick Exposure Check (QEC), the Ergonomic Workplace Analysis developed by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH), ACGIH's Hand Activity Level threshold limit values method (HAL), the Job Strain Index (JSI), the OCRA index, the EN 1005-3 standard, the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) methods were all used to assess 224 workstations involving 567 tasks in various industrial sectors. The results are compared using three risk categories (low, moderate, high). Data were gathered using video and measurements taken at the workstations. A questionnaire was also administered to employees participating in the study. The findings reveal that the various methods differ in their analyses of the same workstation. The EN 1005-3 standard assessing risk to the shoulder was the most conservative, identifying over 86% of the workstations as high risk. The HAL classified 37% of the workstations as low-risk to the hand and wrist compare to JSI with 9%. Correlation was highest between RULA and REBA, and between JSI and HAL. The FIOH, RULA and REBA methods did not identify any workstations as low risk. The QEC method proved to be the less stringent in assessing overall risk, classifying 35% of the workstations as high risk compare to RULA with 76%. The QEC Hand/wrist and OCRA Hand/wrist/elbow indices showed similar results for the number of workstations classified as high risk, but did not classify the same workstations in this category. OCRA and QEC were in agreement 57% of the time for all risk categories combined. Relevance to industry These results provide a better understanding of the differences between various risk assessment methods. This information should be particularly useful for practitioners when choosing a method prior to an ergonomic intervention in industry.

[1]  Marie-Ève Chiasson,et al.  ÉVALUATION DES FACTEURS DE RISQUE DE TROUBLES MUSCULO-SQUELETTIQUES : COMPARAISON DE MÉTHODES D'OBSERVATION ET PERCEPTION DES TRAVAILLEURS , 2011 .

[2]  A Burdorf,et al.  Exposure assessment strategies for work-related risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders. , 1999, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[3]  B. Lowe.  Accuracy and validity of observational estimates of shoulder and elbow posture. , 2004, Applied ergonomics.

[4]  N. Fallentin,et al.  Assessment of work postures and movements using a video-based observation method and direct technical measurements. , 2001, Applied ergonomics.

[5]  J A Eklund,et al.  Relationships between ergonomics and quality in assembly work. , 1995, Applied ergonomics.

[6]  E. Yelin,et al.  Cost of musculoskeletal diseases: impact of work disability and functional decline. , 2003, The Journal of rheumatology. Supplement.

[7]  Patrick G Dempsey,et al.  A survey of tools and methods used by certified professional ergonomists. , 2005, Applied ergonomics.

[8]  O Karhu,et al.  Correcting working postures in industry: A practical method for analysis. , 1977, Applied ergonomics.

[9]  Å. Kilbom,et al.  Assessment of physical exposure in relation to work-related musculoskeletal disorders--what information can be obtained from systematic observations? , 1994, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[10]  J. Buckwalter,et al.  The burden of musculoskeletal conditions at the start of the new millennium , 2003 .

[11]  G. David.  Ergonomic methods for assessing exposure to risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. , 2005, Occupational medicine.

[12]  A. Garg,et al.  The Strain Index: a proposed method to analyze jobs for risk of distal upper extremity disorders. , 1995, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[13]  P. Buckle,et al.  The nature of work-related neck and upper limb musculoskeletal disorders. , 2002, Applied ergonomics.

[14]  L McAtamney,et al.  RULA: a survey method for the investigation of work-related upper limb disorders. , 1993, Applied ergonomics.

[15]  A Garg,et al.  Revised NIOSH equation for the design and evaluation of manual lifting tasks. , 1993, Ergonomics.

[16]  C Levenstein,et al.  The economic and social consequences of work-related musculoskeletal disorders: the Connecticut Upper-Extremity Surveillance Project (CUSP). , 1998, International journal of occupational and environmental health.

[17]  Anil Mital,et al.  Fatigue in High and Very High Frequency Manual Lifting, Lowering and Carrying and Turning , 1993 .

[18]  P. Buckle,et al.  Current techniques for assessing physical exposure to work-related musculoskeletal risks, with emphasis on posture-based methods. , 1999, Ergonomics.

[19]  Megan Strickfaden,et al.  Physical demands analysis of occupational tasks in neighborhood pubs. , 2005, Applied ergonomics.

[20]  Peregrin Spielholz,et al.  Reliability and Validity Assessment of the Hand Activity Level Threshold Limit Value and Strain Index Using Expert Ratings of Mono-Task Jobs , 2008, Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene.

[21]  Andrew C Laing,et al.  Methodological issues in evaluating workplace interventions to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders through mechanical exposure reduction. , 2003, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[22]  Waldemar Karwowski,et al.  A Comparison of Three Observational Techniques for Assessing Postural Loads in Industry , 2007, International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE.

[23]  E. Badley,et al.  Relative importance of musculoskeletal disorders as a cause of chronic health problems, disability, and health care utilization: findings from the 1990 Ontario Health Survey. , 1994, The Journal of rheumatology.

[24]  Deepak Sharan.  Ergonomic workplace analysis (EWA). , 2012, Work.

[25]  Shrawan Kumar,et al.  Comparison of Ergonomic Risk Assessment Output in Four Sawmill Jobs , 2010, International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE.

[26]  Peter Buckle,et al.  Evaluating Change in Exposure to Risk for Musculoskeletal Disorders — A Practical Tool , 2000 .

[27]  Daniel Imbeau,et al.  Measurement Consistency Among Observational Job Analysis Methods During an Intervention Study , 2011, International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE.

[28]  David Rempel,et al.  Chapter 6a – Epidemiology of Wrist and Hand Disorders , 2007 .

[29]  L Punnett,et al.  PATH: a work sampling-based approach to ergonomic job analysis for construction and other non-repetitive work. , 1996, Applied ergonomics.

[30]  T J Armstrong,et al.  Hand wrist cumulative trauma disorders in industry. , 1986, British journal of industrial medicine.

[31]  A M Genaidy,et al.  Can visual perception be used to estimate body part angles? , 1993, Ergonomics.

[32]  S. Stock,et al.  Workplace ergonomic factors and the development of musculoskeletal disorders of the neck and upper limbs: a meta-analysis. , 1991, American journal of industrial medicine.

[33]  D Colombini,et al.  An observational method for classifying exposure to repetitive movements of the upper limbs. , 1998, Ergonomics.

[34]  T. Armstrong,et al.  Occupational factors and carpal tunnel syndrome. , 1987, American journal of industrial medicine.

[35]  S Hignett,et al.  Rapid entire body assessment (REBA). , 2000, Applied ergonomics.

[36]  Svend Erik Mathiassen,et al.  Systematic evaluation of observational methods assessing biomechanical exposures at work. , 2010, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[37]  S. V. N. Santhosh Kumar,et al.  Comparison of ergonomic risk assessments in a repetitive high-risk sawmill occupation: Saw-filer , 2007 .

[38]  A. Burdorf.  The role of assessment of biomechanical exposure at the workplace in the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. , 2010, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[39]  Peter Buckle,et al.  The development of the Quick Exposure Check (QEC) for assessing exposure to risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. , 2008, Applied ergonomics.

[40]  T R Waters,et al.  Methods for assessing the physical demands of manual lifting: a review and case study from warehousing. , 1998, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[41]  Panel on Musculoskeletal Disorders.  Musculoskeletal disorders and the workplace , 2013 .

[42]  W M Keyserling,et al.  A checklist for evaluating ergonomic risk factors associated with upper extremity cumulative trauma disorders. , 1993, Ergonomics.

[43]  A M Genaidy,et al.  Use of visual perception in estimating static postural stresses: magnitudes and sources of errors. , 1995, Ergonomics.

[44]  Romain Jallon,et al.  Développement et utilisation d’un outil de calcul des coûts indirects des accidents de travail basé sur une cartographie des processus , 2011 .

[45]  J Eklund,et al.  Ergonomics, quality and continuous improvement--conceptual and empirical relationships in an industrial context. , 1997, Ergonomics.

[46]  B. Silverstein,et al.  Interventions to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders. , 2004, Journal of electromyography and kinesiology : official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology.

[47]  A. Grieco,et al.  Epidemiology of musculoskeletal disorders due to biomechanical overload. , 1998, Ergonomics.

[48]  E. Occhipinti.  OCRA: a concise index for the assessment of exposure to repetitive movements of the upper limbs. , 1998, Ergonomics.

[49]  Alain Piette,et al.  Stratégie de prévention collective des risques musculosquelettiques (TMS) , 2001 .

[50]  M. H. Pope,et al.  A REVIEW OF THE BIOMECHANICS AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF WORKING POSTURES (IT ISN'T ALWAYS VIBRATION WHICH IS TO BLAME!) , 1998 .

[51]  L. Punnett,et al.  Work-related musculoskeletal disorders: the epidemiologic evidence and the debate. , 2004, Journal of electromyography and kinesiology : official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology.

[52]  P Spielholz,et al.  Quantifying repetitive hand activity for epidemiological research on musculoskeletal disorders – Part II: comparison of different methods of measuring force level and repetitiveness , 2006, Ergonomics.

[53]  G. Borg.  Borg's Perceived Exertion and Pain Scales , 1998 .

[54]  Donald Bloswick,et al.  Comparison of ergonomic risk assessment outputs from Rapid Upper Limb Assessment and the Strain Index for tasks in automotive assembly plants. , 2003, Work.