COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ERGONOMIC POSTURAL ASSSSMENT TOOLS FOR SCULPTORS

Abstract

Abstract: Musculoskeletal disorders (MD) are the most prevalent disease worldwide. Work-related MD accounts for most occupational pathologies, resulting in work restrictions, lost workdays, and at other times early retirement of workers. Efficient posture improves work performance and reduces MD. Risk factors for MDs exist in the work of sculptors. To know the causes of MD and reduce its incidence, it is necessary to identify the risk factors involved in its manifestation. In this research, two postural assessment procedures have been used: Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and OWAS (Ovako working assessment system) to evaluate the postural risk of three tasks in the work environment: sifting, kneading, and modeling of 39 sculptors in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora. The objective of this work is to determine if there are differences between the two methods to define the level of ergonomic risk of the sculptors' tasks. A T-student test was used to determine if the two sample ergonomic risks means are equals. The results reveal that there is not enough statistical evidence to reject the hypothesis of equality of means of action levels between the two methods so that both procedures can be used indistinctly to evaluate the sifting, kneading, and modeling tasks of the sculptors.