Abstract
An ergonomic walk through evaluation checklist was developed to identify the ergonomic risk factors associated with carpentry tasks at a construction site. The checklist showed postures of neck/shoulders, hips/legs, back, elbow, and wrist, which were assigned a score of 1 to 5. A score of five indicated a very poor posture. The time spent in each posture was estimated. The frequency was determined with a video camera. For the form work specialty, 90% of observations received a score of 3 or higher for back posture. The most stressful body parts were back and elbow, with hips/legs a close second. For ceiling work, neck/shoulders were the most stressed areas, and 100% of observations received a score of 4 or more. For drywalling, the most stressful body part was neck/shoulders. For neck/shoulders, the mean score for the ceiling specialty was significantly higher than for form work and drywall. The back score for form work was significantly higher than for ceiling work. For hips/legs, the score for form work was significantly higher than for ceiling work. The repetitiveness of the torso segment (bending, stooping, twisting) was higher on average than for the lower extremities (squatting and kneeling). The authors conclude that body segments experiencing awkward postures are neck/shoulder, elbow, and back, in descending order of severity.
