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Laura Welch, MD
CPWR
Ph: 301-578-8500 ext.8505
Email: lwelch@cpwr.com
Year One:
Although tools, equipment and work methods have been developed to reduce the body’s wear-and-tear of physically demanding construction tasks, the construction industry has been slow to use them.
CPWR’s Medical Director Laura Welch is examining the use of participatory ergonomics, a collaborative effort engaging management, workers and ergonomists, as an effective way to speed the adoption of interventions in the construction industry.
The ergonomics team learns how to assess hazards, evaluate work practices and make changes to improve health and other outcomes. Participatory ergonomics draws on concepts of empowerment learning in which workers learn and develop through direct participation in the redesign of work. Benefits include enhanced worker motivation and job satisfaction, plus greater acceptance of change by participants, in addition to reduction of injuries and days lost from work.
Assessment of hazards in construction is difficult because trade workers perform many tasks over time within a single job, and each task entails different physical hazards. In Year One, the team used several methods – direct measurement, observations and worker ratings – to obtain an overall exposure assessment of the physical hazards of a job. These specific measures will be a baseline measure for use in interventions.
Researchers are also using health claims for musculoskeletal disorders
to target the types of work with the highest injury rates.
Research Team & Partners: Washington University in St. Louis; University of Massachusetts Lowell; Carpenters’ District Council of Greater St. Louis; Carpenters’ Health and Welfare Trust Fund of St. Louis; Floor Layers Local 1310; Sheet Metal Local 36; Sheet Metal Local 36 Benefit Fund.
Abstract:
The overall goal of this proposal is to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the construction industry. The study consists of four major aims:
In Aim 1, we measure the prevalence and incidence of musculoskeletal disorders among construction workers through analysis of health insurance claims and workers’ compensation data.
In Aim 2, we identify trade-specific work tasks with high-risk physical exposures, and measure workers’ physical exposures in tasks selected for intervention with observational and direct measurement methods.
In Aim 3, we implement a participatory ergonomics intervention to reduce worker physical exposures. We will form participatory ergonomics groups within 8 to10 employers representing small, medium, and large contractors in the three trades, and take baseline measures for all employees of the participating contractors before delivering training. We will facilitate the subsequent group processes that will prioritize high-risk tasks for intervention, identify solutions, and implement these ergonomic solutions to reduce exposure, primarily through the identification and deployment of previously developed technologies or techniques. We will perform a variety of process measures within the studied contractors in order to understand barriers to adoption and diffusion of existing and new solutions.
In Aim 4, we will measure the effectiveness of the ergonomics intervention on work exposures, symptoms, productivity, and return on investment (ROI). We hypothesize that the intervention will decrease physical exposures associated with targeted high risk tasks, will decrease symptoms of musculoskeletal discomfort among workers, and will result in improvements in perceived safety culture and willingness to change work tools and procedures. We also hypothesize estimates of return on investment (ROI) will show an economic benefit.
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