Implementation of shipyard ergonomic interventions.
Authors
Hudock-SD; Wurzelbacher-SJ; Reed-LD; Hales-TR; Siegfried-KV
Source
2001 Ship Production Symposium and Expo, June 13-15, 2001, Ypsilanti, Michigan, Jersey City, NJ: The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, 2001 Jun; :1-10
Abstract
Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in conjunction with the Facilities and Tooling initiative of the MARITECH Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise, conducted a series of ergonomic interventions at eight shipbuilding, ship repair and ship breaking yards across the United States. These interventions were targeted to address those processes within the shipyards that resulted in the highest number, most severe, or costliest work-related musculoskeletal injuries. Examples of problem processes included confined space welding tasks, overhead insulation installation or removal, electric cable pulling, and exposure to vibrating powered hand tools. Pre-intervention risk factor analyses were conducted using various exposure assessment tecniques to develop baseline information for each process considered. Following the intervention implementation, the same exposure assessments were applied in order to quantify the effectiveness of each intervention. Productivity, quality and health metrics are discussed, as are technology transfer tecniques.
Keywords
Ergonomics; Musculoskeletal-system; Injuries; Exposure-levels; Risk-analysis; Risk-factors; Shipyard-industry; Shipyard-workers; Shipyards; Musculoskeletal-system-disorders; Exposure-assessment
Document Type
Conference/Symposia Proceedings
NIOSH Division
DART; DSHEFS
Source Name
2001 Ship Production Symposium and Expo, June 13-15, 2001, Ypsilanti, Michigan
