Ergonomics Training Program to Industrial Workers

Overview

This quasi-experimental study was performed in poultry processing industry. The study aimed to evaluate the benefits of ergonomic training for novice and experienced workers. Sociodemographic and occupational questionnaires were evaluated, musculoskeletal complaints and pain intensity, perceived occupational effort, biomechanical exposure and perception in adopting the training. Complaints in the cervical, wrist and lumbar region were reduced with training, but the intensity of pain was only reduced in the wrist region. There was a reduction in the occupational biomechanical exposure from pre-training, to the post-immediate, and from pre-training to after 2 months for both beginners and experienced. The group of novice workers differed from those with the highest biomechanical exposure reduction in the cutting room tasks. All workers were benefited by ergonomic training in the short and medium term.

The research was submitted to the Local Research Ethics Committee and approved by the number 734.500. Were included 51 employees from the packing and cutting room sectors. The workers were allocated to Novato and Experienced workers groups. The inclusion criteria for the Novato workers group were to be newly hired (1 to 2 days in the company) and not have previous experience in a poultry processing industry, or butcher's shop. It is to ensure that they did not have prior knowledge of the activity. In the case of the group of experienced workers. The exclusion criteria were they worked on the task for more than six months and not be absent during the study period (scheduled vacations). Workers who had already received ergonomic training, such as general guidelines and postural adjustments, as well as pregnant women and people with disabilities were excluded. Outcomes measure 1. Musculoskeletal Complains and Pain Intensity The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to investigate the presence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the last month, using dichotomous responses (yes or no) The visual analogue pain scale evaluated the intensity of symptoms indicating "absence of pain" (0) on one side and the opposite side "unbearable pain" (10 cm) (Carlsson 1982). The QNSO and pain scale were applied in both groups at the baseline, and after 2 months of the ergonomic training program. 2. Biomechanical Exposure Analysis The analysis of occupational biomechanical exposure occurred through a Poultry processing Check list (PPChecklist) created for the study. The PPChecklist evaluation criteria were based on observational methods for biomechanical exposure analysis, such as the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and Strain Index and the Checklist for Musculoskeletal Risk Assessment (RARME). The analyzes of the video tasks of each worker for the application of the PPChecklist was performed by two independent evaluators (MSD and DPV) with experience in Worker's Health and Ergonomics. The results obtained with the analysis of the biomechanical exposure of each segment (cervical, shoulder, forearm, wrist, hand and spine) were added to obtain a general task risk score for each worker with a variation of the score between 0 -19 points. The higher the score, the greater the biomechanical exposure of the workers. 3. Perceived effort and Training Perception The effort perceived by workers in pre-training was evaluated by Borg scale ranges from zero (rest / effortless perceived) to ten (very, very heavy / too much, too much effort). To evaluate the self-perception of the ease / difficulty of following the training guidelines was created a questionnaire.