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| Heavy haulage equipment |
Background
There are over half a million operators of heavy equipment (i.e., dozers, loaders, haul trucks, etc.) in mining and construction in the United States, and this number is expected to increase. Factors in the work environment, such as whole body vibration, awkward postural requirements (including static sitting), repetitive motions, poor seat design, poorly designed cabs or controls, and a host of other ergonomics issues, have the potential to cause injury and expose operators to the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders. In mining, MSHA data show that between 1999 and 2003, 4,079 accidents in the surface mining industry were classified as back injuries and contributed to the nearly 173,000 lost or restricted work days (an average of 42 days lost or restricted per accident). Truck drivers, dozer operators, and front-end loader operators alone accounted for over one-third of these injuries.
Potential Outcome
Potential impacts include the development of engineering interventions to alleviate back injuries among operators of mobile equipment. Another potential impact is increased awareness of the need to address ergonomically functional cab designs before equipment is modified. For example, changes made to a mobile equipment operator’s cab to reduce noise exposure may produce unintended compromises to the operator’s posture or line of sight. Increased awareness would avoid these well-intended, but sometimes counterproductive efforts.