Detection and risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders among the staffs employed in a dish manufacturing company using the QEC method and Nordic questionnaire

Due to the high production rate and the manual nature of the manufacturing of Arc opal dishes the probability of the musculoskeletal disorder onset is high. The aim of present study was to detect and assess the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and its relation to the work pace among the staffs in one of the dishes manufacturing companies. This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was carried out on the 100 staffs employed on the decoration section of the company that had job experience equal to one year. They was selected randomly.. To detect the disorders in different parts of the body and to assess the risk of MSDs were used Nordic questionnaireand QEC method respectively. Using SPSS15 software، we analyzed data that used one way ANOVA and Independent Sample t- test. The results from Nordic questionnaire revealed that the most prevalent disorders in past year related to back (93%)، neck (89%)، and shoulder (82%) regions respectively. The QEC showed that level of worker exposure with risk factors in back (53%)، shoulder (58%)، Wrist – Hand (71%) and neck (58%) regions is high. Also 71 percent of worker employees have inappropriate posture during work. A significant relation was found between the MSDs and the work pace. Considering the high prevalence of MSD and analyzing the related risk factors which signifying the risky condition of work environment، it proposed to apply the ergonomic intervention for reduction of work pace.