Risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders in sugar factory worker by manual handling assessment chart

Introduction:Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are considered as one of the most common occupational diseases and injuries. The aim of the study was to assess prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD) and to investigate manual material handling (MMH) tasks by manual handling assessment (MAC) chart among sugar factory workers.
Methods& materials:This descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 65 workers in a sugar industry in Isfahan in 2013. Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and concise MAC chart were used to gathering required data. Then, the obtained data was analyzed using SPSS-20 software and applying descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation test and Chi-square test.
Results: Lower back, knee, hand and shoulder symptoms were found to be the most prevalent problems among the workers studied with prevalence rate of 73.8%, 64.6%, 58.4 and 47.7% respectively in recent years. According to the results the highest level of risk related to the risk level 3, then 4. The lowest risk level was level 1.
Conclusion: Regarding to results of the study, ergonomics interventions should focus on redesign of MMH tasks, improvement of workplace physical conditions and providing ergonomics instruments.