EJAS FOR ERGONOMIC INTERVENTIONS IN MANUFACTURING

这项初步研究将为新的工作分析方法提供基础，该方法专门用于改善大型汽车锻造厂的人体工学干预评估。研究项目将包括对MSD监测数据的分析、对已完成的工作分析的评估、对替代暴露评估方法的评估以及干预评估活动方法的使用。这项研究将首先分析1994年1月1日至1999年12月31日期间记录的OSHA 200可记录的肌肉骨骼结果，以及1998年约700名工厂员工报告的肌肉骨骼症状。完成的人体工程学工作分析将被分析，以提供工厂工作的暴露概况，并确定表格上的哪些项目(如果有)与OSHA和症状调查终点相关。现有的健康和暴露数据将被用来形成评估工厂干预措施所需的基线信息，并帮助工厂的人体工程学委员会确定未来干预工作的方向。研究项目的主要重点将是制定可用于评估非周期性和周期性制造工作的干预措施的替代暴露评估战略。暴露评估的替代方法将包括使用工作抽样方法来评估执行非周期性工作的20%的劳动力的暴露，并使用“疲劳-累积”模型，该模型考虑了周期性工作中特定肌肉组的努力强度、持续时间和恢复模式。将对多名工人进行全天和多天的重复测量，以便能够识别暴露可变性的重要来源，并允许对不同的暴露评估策略进行计算机模拟(重新采样)。这些研究活动将提供新的方法和数据收集战略，以提高制造厂干预研究所需的工作分析工作的精确度和可靠性。在研究过程中，新的方法和策略将在至少一项干预措施上进行试点测试。

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.