Musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomic load level of workers in electronic manufacturing industry

Objective To evaluate the ergonomics load of workers in an electronic factory and to explore its correlation with musculoskeletal disorders.

Methods The ergonomic load and musculoskeletal disorders of workers in an electronic factory were investigated with the questionnaires of both quick exposure check (QEC) table and Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire.

Results Totally 636 workers were surveyed, among whom 74(11.6%), 62(9.7%), 37(5.8%), and 54(8.5%)workers had neck, shoulder, wrist/palm and waist/lower back muscle disorders, respectively. The prevalence of lower back/waist disorders was higher in males than in females (P < 0.05), while that of wrist/palm disorders was higher in females than in males (P < 0.05). The incidence of shoulder disorders increased with the increment of the total employment time (P < 0.01), and the incidence of neck, lower back/waist and shoulder disorders increased with the increment of the service time in this factory(P < 0.05). The QEC score of workers with shoulder MSDs was higher than that of workers without shoulder MSDs (P < 0.05). The scores of work rhythm and stress among workers with neck and shoulder MSDs were higher than those in workers without MSDs (P < 0.05). The prevalence of cervical MSDs increased with the increasing load level(P < 0.01).

Conclusion The prevalence of shoulder and arm MSDs of workers in the electronic factory was relatively obvious, which was related to the ergonomics load level, service time and the level of tension. Therefore, effective control measures should be taken against it.