Using Participatory Ergonomics to Improve Health and Safety in Commercial Lobstering in the United States: 2 Case Studies.

The lobster-harvesting industry has a high occupational injury incidence compared to land-based industries. Participatory ergonomics methods were used to partner with lobstermen to develop and implement ergonomic improvements. The model included training in ergonomics principles, a forum for ergonomics discussions, and a sequence of meetings planned to focus on problem identification, intervention, evaluation, and dissemination of findings.

Commercial Fishing as an Occupational Determinant of Opioid Overdoses and Deaths of Despair in Two Massachusetts Fishing Ports, 2000-2014.

The opioid epidemic has had disproportionate effects across various sectors of the population, differentially impacting various occupations. Commercial fishing has among the highest rates of occupational fatalities in the United States. This study used death certificate data from two Massachusetts fishing ports to calculate proportionate mortality ratios of fatal opioid overdose as a cause of death in commercial fishing.

Injuries and Exposure to Time Lobstering in Northeast US Inshore Lobster Fleet.

: The study objective was to estimate a denominator of exposure to inshore lobstering in Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs), to count incident injury data from a sample cohort of this population, to use this count to calculate rates for incident injuries, and to use official counts of fatalities to estimate a fatality rate.: Captains were randomly selected from those licensed to fish in Maine and Massachusetts. Data on work exposure and injuries that occurred on the boat were collected using a survey that was administered once per season via phone or face-to-face interview with the captain.

Musculoskeletal Disorders in Northeast Lobstermen.

Background: The objective of this study was to report on the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in lobstermen in the northeast USA.

Methods: Crews were randomly selected from those licensed to fish in Maine and Massachusetts and followed prospectively. The survey used a Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire format to characterize musculoskeletal disorders.

Work-Time Exposure and Acute Injuries in Inshore Lobstermen of the Northeast United States.

The objective of this study was to inform efforts to reduce risk for musculoskeletal disorders among commercial lobstermen by characterizing and quantifying injuries that occur to people while harvesting lobsters commercially in the Northeast United States. This study aimed to estimate a denominator of exposure to lobstering in full-time equivalents (FTE), to estimate a fatality rate, and to calculate incidence rates for acute injuries within the sample population. Captains were randomly selected from those licensed to fish in Maine and Massachusetts.

Facilitators and barriers to using treadmill workstations under real working conditions: a qualitative study in female office workers.

Purpose: Characterize barriers and facilitators to use treadmill workstations in real work sites.

Design: For 6 months, workers tried a sit-stand-walk treadmill workstation at will with expert ergonomic support. Qualitative data were collected monthly.

Changes in ergonomic exposures of nursing assistants after the introduction of a safe resident handling program in nursing homes.

Unlabelled: We evaluated the effect of a nursing home safe resident handling intervention on the ergonomic exposures of nursing assistants. The healthcare version of the Postures, Activities, Tools and Handling (PATH) method was used by 12 observers to examine postures, manual handling, and resident handling pre-intervention and at three months, 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months post-intervention. There were marked downward trends in proportion of work time spent repositioning and transferring residents, and an increased use of handling equipment in transferring (Cochran-Armitage tests: all -values <0.

Assessing the ergonomic hazards for pile drivers.

Objective: The study was conducted to assess the physical/ergonomic exposures that may lead to musculoskeletal injuries of Pile Drivers.

Participants: Pile Drivers in the Greater Boston area.

Methods: A hierarchical taxonomy for pile driving work was developed with tasks and activities defined within each of seven main pile driving operations.

Physical ergonomic hazards in highway tunnel construction: overview from the Construction Occupational Health Program.

This report provides an overview of physical ergonomic exposures in highway construction work across trades and major operations. For each operation, the observational method "PATH" (Posture, Activity, Tools and Handling) was used to estimate the percentage of time that workers spent in specific tasks and with exposure to awkward postures and load handling. The observations were carried out on 73 different days, typically for about 4 h per day, covering 120 construction workers in 5 different trades: laborers, carpenters, ironworkers, plasterers, and tilers.

Factors influencing ergonomic intervention in construction: trunkman case study.

This case study examines factors affecting the use of equipment designed to prevent lower back strain in laborers who pour concrete on major highway construction sites. Qualitative methods of organizational analysis were used to characterize factors identified from interviews and participant observation. The major obstacles to the use of the control on site were 1.

Ergonomics of abrasive blasting: a comparison of high pressure water and steel shot.

Abrasive blasting with silica sand has long been associated with silicosis. Alternatives to sand are being used increasingly. While NIOSH has done extensive investigations of the respiratory effects of the substitutes for sand, the ergonomic effects of the substitutes have not been examined.

An ergonomic intervention to reduce back strain among apple harvest workers in New York State.

The impact of modifications to the apple picking bucket on common picking postures, self-reported comfort, ease of use, and speed of harvest were measured. Fourteen apple pickers wore an intervention hip belt, were interviewed and measured using posture-activities-tools-handling methodology. The use of hip belt did not significantly alter time spent in various postures.

Ergonomic exposure case studies in Massachusetts fishing vessels.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders may not have been studied as much as greater risks in the dangerous environment of commercial fishing. Primary prevention of risk for these kinds of injuries and illnesses begins by a detailed understanding of what risks are likely to be common in the different fisheries, and how those risks might be reduced.

Methods: Ergonomic job analyses were conducted on three different types of fishing vessels in Massachusetts: gillnetting, otter trawling, and lobstering.

Ergonomic exposures in apple harvesting: preliminary observations.

Background: Recent research on occupational injury to apple harvest workers in New York and Pennsylvania indicates that muscle strain is one of their leading problems. A descriptive study of ergonomic risks for strains of the shoulder and lower back among apple harvesters was carried out to identify opportunities for intervention.

Methods: Based upon pilot observation in four orchards, a Posture-Activities-Tools-Handling (PATH) data collection template was designed and used to analyze the work of fifty-one workers in eight additional apple orchards.