Comparative evaluation of working postures among industrial workers before and after of ergonomics intervention using participatory approach

One of the most important factors causing musculoskeletal disorder is awkward body posture during work. Ergonomic interventions to improve working posture are essential. Participatory approach is a new field in the planning and implementation of interventions. This study compared posture of employees working for a manufacturing company before and after the intervention using participatory ergonomics approach.

A quasi-experimental study was carried out on descriptive analyzes of 30 employees of car cable Manufacturing Company. This research was carried out in five stages including: 1. Ergonomics assessment of working postures by REBA assessment method; 2. Training all stuff and workers involved in ergonomics program; 3. Participatory planning of ergonomics interventions; 4. Interventions; and 5. Postural reassessment after interventions.

The results were analyzed using Wilcoxon, Sign and Mc Nemar test. The results of this study showed improvement of the posture in the neck, trunk, arms and wrists. Also, comparison of overall score and ACTION LEVE related before and after intervention was significant (P <.05). The greatest effect was on trunk postures (20 cases) and arms (20 cases), followed by wrists (7 cases), neck (6 cases), forearms (3 cases) and feet (1 case) respectively.

The present study shows that a participatory approach to ergonomic intervention can be effective in significant improvement of posture.