Association between Awkward Posture and Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) among Assembly Line Workers in an Automotive Industry
- Author:
A.R. Anita
;
A. Yazdani
;
K.S. Hayati
;
M.Y. Adon
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
MSD;
Awkward Posture;
RULA;
Automotive
- MeSH:
Quality of Life
- From:Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
2014;10(1):23-28
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Automotive industry in Malaysia is one of the booming industries which encompass the design,
development and manufacturing of motor vehicles. However, it has its own setback as the interaction
between complex tools, machines, and instruments, coupled with humans as workers pose several
health hazards. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal
disorders (MSD) and the association with awkward posture among automotive assembly line workers.
A simple random sampling method was adopted and data were collected based on Standardized Nordic
Questionnaire (SNQ) and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method for analysing awkward
posture. With a response rate of 83%, a total of 232 assembly line workers with at least one year job
tenure participated in this study. The fi ndings revealed that 78.4% of workers reported MSD while
the highest percentage of complaints concerned the lower back (50.9%). Three factors were found
to be signifi cantly associated with MSD: age (χ2
=5.61, p=0.018), job tenure (χ2
= 8.26, p=0.004) and
awkward posture (χ2
= 65.37, p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis indicated that signifi cant risk
factors for MSD symptoms were workers aged ≥ 25 years old (OR= 2.25, 95%CI 1.14-4.46) and those
workers with equal and more than three years job tenure (OR= 2.44, 95%CI 1.04-5.63). In addition,
workers in the very high and high RULA action level who were 69 times (OR = 69.38, 95%CI 14.51-
331.73) and 12 times (OR = 12.42, 95%CI 5.21-29.58), respectively, also had higher odds of complaints
of MSD. The high prevalence of MSD shows that MSD symptoms is a signifi cant problem among
automotive assembly line workers while age, job tenure and awkward posture based on RULA action
level are the signifi cant factors for MSD. In particular, this study proves that the prevalence of MSD
increases as the RULA action level and job tenure increases. Thus, this problem could be reduced
by decreasing RULA action level through appropriate ergonomic workstation design and ergonomic
training for workers.
- Full text:P020150604485997323945.pdf
