ارزيابي ارگونوميك خطر ابتلا به اختلالات اسكلتي- عضلاني به روش QEC در يك كارخانه لاستيك سازي

Ergonomic evaluation of exposure to musculoskeletal disorders risk factors by QEC technique in a rubber factory

Objective: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent one of the leading causes of occupational injury and disability in the developed and industrially developing countries. For this reason, many researches have been conducted on MSDs and risk factor evaluation techniques. This study was conducted among workers of a rubber factory in Shiraz with the objectives of a) determination of WMSDs prevalence and b) evaluation of level of exposure to WMSDs risk factors. The results of this study can be used to develop WMSDs preventive strategies in the workplace and improve workersʹ health. Subjects and Metbods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, all 16 production units of the factory were studied. In each unit, 50% of the workers were randomly selected and included in the study. Totally, 454 workers participated. Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to study prevalence of WMSDs and QEC technique was applied to evaluate physical exposure to the risk factors. Photography technique was used to collect required data from each worker and each workstation. In all, 56 workstations were photographed. Data was analyzed using SPSS (Version13). Results: Means of age and job tenure were 29.8±7.3 and 6.6±6.1 years, respectively. 73.6% of the workers suffered from some kind of symptoms during the last 12 months. The highest prevalence was reported in lower back (50.2%), knees (48.5%) and upper back (38.1%). Statistical analyses showed that there was an association between the QEC level of risk and MSDs symptoms (P