The search for practical and reliable observational or technical risk assessment methods to be used in prevention of musculoskeletal disorders.

• Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are still frequent, inducing verylarge costs for companies and societies all over the world. Ergonomists work to prevent thesedisorders and to make organisations sustainable. In their work it is important to identify risks ina reliable way, to prioritise risks, and then to perform interventions (participatory interventionshave shown to more often be successful), so that the risks and the disorders may be reduced. Risksare most often assessed by observation. Two projects are described. In the first project the interobserver reliability of six observational methods was found to be low in risk assessmentsconcerning repetition, movements and postures. Also the inter-method reliability was often low,i.e. when the same work is assessed with different methods different risk estimates are oftenobtained. In the second described project, easy-to-use methods for measurements of postures andmovements were developed and validated. Hence, there are now validated technical methods thatin developing tools, together with practitioners, that are attractive, easy and time efficient to use,and which should increase the reliability in risk assessments of work tasks and jobs.  

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Produktionsteknik, arbetsvetenskap och ergonomi (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Biomechanical exposure

Observation

Direct measurements

Validity

Reliability

Usability

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)