Effects of working posture, lifting load, and standing surface on postural instability during simulated lifting tasks in construction

Abstract

Postural instability is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal falls in the construction industry. This study investigated the effects of working posture, lifting load and standing surface on perceived postural instability. Thirty young males performed simulated lifting tasks in construction using six different postures under four experimental conditions (2 loads × 2 surfaces). Results showed working postures with bending at the waist and overhead carrying were associated with high postural instability. With lifting load and inclined standing surface both significantly increased postural instability for all working postures except the full squatting. Full squatting with lifting load was more stable than without load for the flat surface, but opposite for the inclined surface. These findings indicate three investigated factors had not only significant main effects, but also complicated interaction effects on postural instability, implying that all three factors should be considered simultaneously for the real practice on fall prevention in construction.

Practitioner summary: The leading causes of worker deaths in the construction industry were falls. This study showed that working postures with waist bending and overhead carrying were associated with high postural instability. With lifting load and inclined standing surface both significantly increased postural instability for all working postures except the full squatting.

Keywords:

• Postural instability
• balance and falls
• construction safety

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea [grant number NRF2017R1C1B2006811] and the KAIST Faculty Research Fund [grant number A0601003029].