Exertion and body discomfort perceived symptoms associated with carpentry tasks: an on-site evaluation

The purpose of this study was to determine how carpenters subjectively perc eived the exertion level and body discomfort associated with their daily ta sks. Two psychophysical instruments were utilized, The Borg Whole Body Phys ical Exertion Instrument, a measure of overall physics demand, and the Body Segment instrument (modified Bishop-Corlett Scale), a measure of body disc omfort, were given to 73 carpenters at the end of a shift. Carpenty special ties evaluated included ceiling, drywall, formwork, finishing work, pile dr iving, fixtures, welding, and scaffolding. The mean Borg's exertion score f or the subjects combining all specialties was 14.4 (+/-2.51 standard deviat ion), a score between "somewhat hard" and "hard," The perception of whole b ody physical exertion appeared to be a consequence of the specific task. Th ere was no significant correlation between whole body physical exertion per ception and age or the number of years as a carpenter, The findings from th e body discomfort scale for the total group indicated that the three primar y discomfort frequencies by body segment were mid-to-lower back (65.8%), kn ees (45.2%), and the neck (28.8%), The next highest discomfort rating by bo dy segment (back, knee, right wrist, right leg/foot, and right shoulder) fo r those subjects in the top three job specialties represented (drywall, cei ling, and formwork; n = 38) resulted in significantly higher ratings for ba ck (60.5%) than right leg/foot (34.2%) and right shoulder (31.6%). All othe r body segment ratings were not significantly different from one another us ing Tukey's studentized range test.