Risk of musculoskeletal disorders in a manufacturing company using NERPA and QEC methods

Musculoskeletal disorders is one of the causes of occupational injuries and work-related disabilities in developing countries. This study performed in a manufacturing company to determine the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in different organs of the body using two posture assessment methods including NERPA and QEC.
This cross-sectional study conducted on 87 workers of a manufacturing company. In order to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in different body organs Nordic questionnaire was used. To determine the risk of musculoskeletal disorders QEC and NERPA methods were used. Level of statistical significance considered to be P Based on the results of Nordic questionnaire, higher prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders observed in the lumbar (32/18 %), knee (20/68%), and legs (14/94%) and CNC Operator had the highest musculoskeletal disorders. The results of Assessing the level of risk using QEC showed that the most prevalent risk level was "high risk" level (51/72%) and the results of the NERPA method also revealed that the most frequent risk level was "high risk " level (33.33%).
The results showed that the Nordic questionnaire findings were more consistent with the QEC than NERPA method results. Also, according to findings and considering that QEC and NERPA respect various factors such as body postures, the force required, muscle activity, and workstations design, these two methods are suitable for study of the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in the manufacturing industries.