CHARACTERISTICS OF FOREARM HAND EXPOSURE IN RELATION TO SYMPTOMS AMONG AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLY-LINE WORKERS

The aims of this paper are to present a new computerized observation m ethod HandPEO (portable ergonomic observation), which quantifies durat ion, frequency, and holding time of work operations and hand grips, an d to measure the physical exposure of the forearm-hand among automobil e assembly line workers by using HandPEO registrations of video record ings in simulated real-time. Agreement between two recordings was test ed for five subjects by, calculating the proportion of specific intrar ater agreement; it was approximately 70% for hand grips and 60-80% for work operations. Registrations were made on work stations with high ( HS) and low (LS) prevalence of symptoms. The major differences were lo nger holding times per operation and a larger proportion of power tool usage for HS. The HandPEO method may be used to describe the characte ristics of the work studied and may serve as basis for job redesign. T he results suggest an association between holding time, certain work o perations, and prevalence of symptoms. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.