Determination of Biomechanical Risk Factors of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Bakery Profession Based on JSI and OCRA Indices

Aims: Due to their work type, the bakery workers undergo musculoskeletal disorders caused by the ergonomics factors. The aim of this study was to study the risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders in the bakery.
Instrument & In the cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study, 28 bakeries of Gonabad were studied in 2015. The bakeries were selected by census method. Data was collected by 3 methods including observation information (to analyze works and tasks with repetitive movements), interviews (to ask about work type and its complexity), and the ergonomics assessment of the upper limb (OCRA and JSI technics to determine and assess the actual risk levels of repetitive tasks). Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman correlational non-parametric analysis.
Findings: OCRA index in kneaders and bakers was more than 3 (the red criteria) in Lavash, Sangak, and Taftoon bakeries. Alongside the kneader task in Sangak bakery, the scores of the right hand strain index of all tasks in Lavash, Taftoon, and Sangak bakeries were more than 7 (the red criteria). There were significant correlations between the results of OCRA index and JSI method in the determination of ergonomics statuses of the bakery workers in three bakery types including Lavash (p Based on the results of OCRA and JSI, there is a high risk level of musculoskeletal damages in the bakery workers.