Influences on the use of observational methods by practitioners when identifying risk factors in physical work

Abstract

Most observational methods for musculoskeletal disorder risk assessment have been developed by researchers to be applied in specific situations, and practitioners could find difficulties in their use in real-work conditions. The main objective of this study was to identify the factors which have an influence on how useful the observational techniques are perceived to be by practitioners and to what extent these factors influence their perception. A survey was conducted on practitioners regarding the problems normally encountered when implementing these methods, as well as the perceived overall utility of these techniques. The results show that practitioners place particular importance on the support the methods provide in making decisions regarding changes in work systems and how applicable they are to different types of jobs. The results of this study can serve as guide to researchers for the development of new assessment techniques that are more useful and applicable in real-work situations.

Abstract

Practitioner Summary: A survey about the use of ergonomics assessment methods for identifying risk factors in physical work was conducted among practitioners. The reasons to find a method more or less useful were analysed. The support the methods provide in making decisions regarding changes in work systems and how applicable they are to different types of jobs were found to be the main reasons.

Keywords:

• ergonomics
• practitioners
• observational methods
• risk assessment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

^1. Email:[email protected]

^2. Email:[email protected]

^3. GINSHT is used to refer to a method described in INSHT (1998) for the Assessment of the Manual Handling of Loads published by the National Institute of Safety and Hygiene in the workplace under the Ministry of Employment and Social Security of the Government of Spain. The method is based on ISO 11228-1:2003: Ergonomics – Manual handling – Part 1: Lifting and carrying.

^4. BiomechEEC is a computerised biomechanical model based on the proposal in Chaffin (1969). Although it cannot strictly be considered to be an observational method, it was included in the study because it was one of the methods most used by practitioners.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Programa estatal de investigación, desarrollo e innovación orientada a los retos de la sociedad of the government of Spain [grant number TIN2013-42504-R].