Risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders by QEC method in a food production factory

Researches have shown that musculoskeletal disorders are among the most important occupational problems. Nowadays prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders is a necessity and national priority. This study was designed to identify the frequency of musculoskeletal disorders in food industry. In a cross-sectional study, workers from 10 job categories in a food industry were selected. 50% of workers in each job category were randomly selected and at last 92 subjects entered the study. Nordic questionnaire was used to assess the frequency of work-related musculoskeletal complaints and QEC method was used for job analysis. Mean age of workers was 36.36 ± 8.50 (range: 23-55) years. Mean employment duration was 11.17 (range: 1-30) years. 21.7% of subjects had experienced pain and discomfort in at least one of the 4 areas (neck, shoulder, low back, and hand) in the last 12 months. Among all musculoskeletal disorders, those presented in low back and shoulder had a significant relationship with employment duration (p = 0.01). This study showed that musculoskeletal disorders were more frequent in low back and hand regions.