Archives of Occupational Health (Apr 2020)

The Comparison of Risk Factors Caused by Musculoskeletal Disorders in Female Assembly Workers utilizing MFA and NERPA Methods

  • Ameneh Golbaghi,
  • Leila Nematpour,
  • Behzad Fouladi dehaghi

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 2
pp. 577 – 585

Abstract

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Background: Occupational injuries and work-related disabilities are among the most factors contributing to the creation of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in industry. Improper workstation and poor posture increase fatigue load and, eventually, the appearance of MSDs. In addition to reducing physical strength, MSDs mitigate accuracy, augment the accidents, and reduce job productivity. Hence, the purpose of this research was to assess the risk factors for MSDs in electrical devices assembly workers utilizing Muscle Fatigue Assessment (MFA) and Novel Ergonomic Pos­tural Assessment (NERPA). Methods: This study was one cross-sectional descriptive study in the year … and was conducted in one electrical device manufacturing workshop in Khuzestan province along with 84 female workers. 13 jobs and 32 postures were selected in this workshop. Nordic Questionnaire was used to determine the frequency of MSDs. Then, the risk levels were specified in the studied individuals with the use of MFA and NERPA. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software version 16. The statistical methods applied in this study were mean, standard deviation, frequency, frequency percentage, t-test of two independent samples, and correlation coefficient assessment. Furthermore, the significance level of statistical tests was considered to be P<0.05. Results: Findings obtained from MFA exhibited that the right wrist and waist were with 66.7%, neck and right shoulder were with 60% of workers and NERPA method results mentioned that the right wrist with 67.3% and the waist with 65.4% and neck with 61.3% and the right shoulder with 60.8% were at “very high” level of corrective actions priority, which these actions must be taken immediately. Also, statistical results indicated that there was a significant correlation between the results of Nordic, MFA, and NERPA questionnaires (P<0.05). Conclusion: Concerning the kind of activity and misuse of support, the highest percentage of risk was evident in the right wrist, waist, and neck. So, a proper design of workstation and implementation of managerial actions were proposed to minimize muscle fatigue. These two methods also had similarities. MFA method was preferred when it was required to assess all body parts. On the other hand, NERPA was applied to determine more details.

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