EJAS FOR ERGONOMIC INTERVENTIONS IN MANUFACTURING

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This preliminary study will provide the foundation for new job analysis methods designed specifically to improve the evaluation of ergonomic interventions at a large automobile forging plant. The research project will include an analysis of MSD surveillance data, assessment of completed job analyses, evaluation of alternative exposure assessment methods and use of the methods for intervention evaluation activities. The study will begin with an analysis of OSHA 200 recordable musculoskeletal outcomes recorded from January 1, 1994 - December 31, 1999 and musculoskeletal symptoms reported by approximately 700 plant employees in 1998. Completed ergonomic job analyses will be analyzed to provide exposure profiles for jobs in the plant and to determine which, if any, items on the form are associated with the OSHA and symptom survey endpoints. The existing health and exposure data will be used to form the baseline information needed to evaluate interventions in the plant as well as help the plant's Ergonomics Committee determine where to direct future intervention efforts. The main emphasis of the research project will be on the development of alternative exposure assessment strategies that can be used to evaluate interventions for non-cyclic and cyclic manufacturing jobs. Alternative methods of exposure assessment will include the use of work-sampling methods to evaluate exposures for the 20 percent of the workforce who perform non- cyclic duties and the use of a "fatigue-accumulation" model that considers the effort intensity, duration and recovery patterns for specific muscle groups for cyclic jobs. Measurements will be made on multiple workers repeatedly throughout the day and on multiple days so that the important sources of exposure variability can be identified and to allow computer simulation ("resampling") of different exposure assessment strategies. These research activities will provide new methods and data collection strategies that should improve the precision and reliability of job analysis efforts needed for intervention research in manufacturing plants. The new methods and strategies will be pilot tested on at least one intervention during the course of the study.