Ergonomic Evaluation of Exposure to Musculoskeletal Disorders Risk Factors in Welders

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent one of the leading causes of occupational injury and disability in the developed and industrially developing countries. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of MSDs and evaluate the risk of these disorders among welders of a steel manufacturing industry. This descriptive-analytical study was achieved on all 243 welders employed in a steel manufacturing industry. Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to study the prevalence of MSDs. Meanwhile, QEC technique was employed to evaluate the risk of exposure to these disorders. For data analysis, central statistical indices, T-test and Chi-square test were used. The results suggested the highest prevalence of symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders in low back, trunk and knees, respectively. QEC technique showed a high and very high risk of exposure to MSDs in 64.6 % of welders. This study demonstrated that the prevalence of WMSDs in welders under study was high. Based on the obtained results, the most significant ergonomic problems in welders were found to be awkward postures, manual material handling and back bending and twisting. Furthermore, the results suggested that QEC can present reliable findings in evaluating the risk level of exposure to WMSDs.