Keeping Ironworkers Healthy: Ergonomics and WMSDs

WMSDs are preventable!

Funded by:	With assistance from:

 

This training is dedicated to the memory of Randy J. Beutel

GOALS OF THIS CLASS

• You will understand:
  
  
  • What WMSDs are and
  • How they develop
    
    
• You will recognize:
  
  
  • WMSD hazards in Ironwork
  • The impact that WMSDs can have on your life
    
    
• You will be able to:
  
  
  • Reduce your risk of developing WMSDs

WMSDs

Some hazards in the workplace can lead to:

• Overexertion
• Strains and Sprains
• Repetitive Motion and Vibration Injuries

which are also called…

Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders

or

WMSDs

WMSDs are occupational disorders of the soft tissues such as:

• muscles
• tendons
• ligaments
• joints
• blood vessels
• nerves

IRON WORKERS INJURIES 2006 -2008

IRONWORKERS ERGONOMIC INJURIES 2006 -2008

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND DOTO LAST IN THIS PROFESSION

• Proper body mechanics for iron work
• The importance of your own fitness
• How working as team improves your safety
• Knowing your physical limits

TESTIMONIALS
BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD TO LEAVE THE PROFESSION DUE TO SERIOUS INJURY (WMSD)

THIS IS THE MOST USED AND ABUSED TOOL YOU HAVE

FORCES ON THE SPINE

Shear

Torque (twisting)

Compression

THIS IS THE SECOND MOST ABUSED TOOL YOU HAVE

THIS ONE TAKES A LOT OF ABUSE, TOO

Prepatellar Bursa
Copyright 2005 Mckesson Health Solutions LLC, All rights reserved

THE BIG THREE RISK FACTORS

• Awkward Posture
  
  
  • Kneeling
  • Squatting
  • Neck bending > 30º
  • Back bending > 30º
  • Wrist bending
  • Hands above head
  • Elbows above shoulders
    
    
• High Force
  
  
  • Gripping
  • Pinching
    
    
• High Repetition
  
  
  • Driving pins with beater
  • Driving pins with 90 (Rivet gun)
  • Driving screws
  • Drilling
  • Grinding
  • Shooting studs
  • Tying rebar

EXPOSURE TO RISK FACTORS

Risk of injury depends upon:

Duration of exposure
Frequency of exposure
Intensity of exposure
Combinations of risk factors

AWKWARD POSTURES

Kneeling

Neck or back bent forward

HIGH FORCE: THREADING & TIEING

HIGH FORCE: WELDING

AWKWARD POSTURE AND HIGH FORCE

Shoulder and elbow fully extended

Cramped spaces

HIGH FORCE AND HIGH VIBRATION

Work involving power hand tools often combines several WMSD risk factors, including vibration, force, posture, contact stress, and repetitive motion

HIGH HAND & ARM VIBRATION

HIGH REPETITION

THE BIG THREE RISK FACTOR REVIEW

• Awkward Posture
  
  
  • Kneeling
  • Squatting
  • Neck posture
  • Back Posture
  • Wrist Posture
  • Hands above head
  • Elbows above shoulders
    
    
• High Force
  
  
  • Gripping
  • Pinching
    
    
• High Repetition
  
  
  • Driving Pins with beater
  • Driving pins with 90 (rivet gun)
  • Driving screws
  • Drilling
  • Grinding
  • Shooting studs
  • Tying rebar

LIFTING

• HEAVY LIFTING
• FREQUENT LIFTING
• AWKWARD LIFTING

LIFTING IS REALLY CUMULATIVE TRAUMA

From the time you begin lifting and moving materials as a child (making forts, building snowmen, carrying puppies around, wearing backpacks to school), you are building up wear and tear on your back.

Then, each time you

• bend to lift a bundle of rods or spool of welding wire,
• bend and twist,
• help your neighbors move their piano

you provide trauma to the back --and it adds up over time

Rod work at Miller Brewing Block House, circa 1950

BIOMECHANICS OF LIFTING

Resistance arm (Distance from back muscles to fulcrum)

HEAVY LIFTING

• Iron and rebar and decking –all the materials of iron work are heavy and the forces generated in working with them are significant.

FREQUENT LIFTING

HEAVY LIFTING: USING TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

BETTER LIFTING

• Use wheels
• Lighten the load
• Provide handles and change shapes (so the load can be carried close to the body)
• Move things closer to you

• Share the load

MOVING MATERIALS: HOW

• Plan the lift
  
  
• Do I need to lift it?
• Can I use a cart or machine to move it?
• How much am I lifting?
• Where is it going?
• What is in the way?
• What is the surface like between me and my destination
  
  
• Get as close to the load as possible
  
  
• Objects put more load on your back the farther they get from your spine


• Face the load
• Bend your knees whenever possible
• Avoid twisting your backAfter

Ask for help if the load is too heavy or bulky. The size and shape of what you lift can be as important as the weight of the object

After heavy lifting, take a mini-break. Pause a few seconds to straighten your back and
s t r e t c h.

LIFTING AND MOVING MATERIALS REVIEW

Planning A Lift:

Do I need to lift it?
Can I use a cart or machine to move it?
Do I need help to lift it safely?
How much am I lifting?
Where is it going?
What is in the way?
What is the surface like between where I am and where I’m going?

Moving Materials:

Reach for the load by bending, reaching, or squatting
Lift the load
Transfer the weight of the load to a carrying position
Carry the load to the needed location
Deposit the load by lowering it to the ground, throwing it, or handing it to another iron worker

AWKWARD POSTURES

• Postures that strain the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, or back.
• Bending, stooping, twisting, and reaching, are examples of awkward postures.

AWKWARD POSITION TASKS

PULLING

AWKWARD POSTURES

KNEELING

SQUATTING

AWKWARD POSTURES: Climbing and Clinging

REVIEW: POSITION HAZARDS

Back bending	Kneeling	Wrist Flexion
Extension	Wrist side deviation

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• PLAN YOUR WORK
  
  Bring all the tools and materials you will need for the work to your site before you begin

• CUSTOMIZE YOUR TOOLS

CONSIDER YOUR ALL YOUR TOOLS

Power Grip: The hand grip that provides maximum hand power for high force tasks. All the fingers wrap around the handle.
Contact Pressure: Pressure on any part of the body from a hard surface, point or edgePower
Pinch Grip: The hand grip that provides control for precision and accuracy. The tool is gripped between the thumb and fingertips.
Single-handle Tools: Tube-like tools, measured by handle length and diameter.
Double-handle Tools: Plier-like tools, measured by handle length and grip span(the distance between the thumb and forefinger when the tool jaws are open or closed)

Pictures from NIOSH, A Guide to Selecting Non-Powered Tools

WHAT YOU CAN DO: ROTATE TASKS

Different tasks that can be rotated?

WHAT YOU CAN DO: REST WHEN YOU NEED TO

Even a short break can help

WHAT YOU CAN DO: USE PROPER BODY MECHANICS

TRIPODING

WHAT YOU CAN DO: STRETCH!

1

2

3

4 NECK/SHOULDER

5 FOREARMS/WRISTS

6 MIDDLE BACK

7 LOW BACK

8 HANDS

WHAT YOU CAN DO: HELP EACH OTHER

SHARE THE LOAD!

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Move your materials to YOU

Materials should be placed where they are conveniently within reach so body movements are natural.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: RAISE YOUR MATERIAL

Simple support stands can be used to raise material and equipment from ground level, making lifting and working easier and increasing the weight that can be lifted.

PPE

• Boots that fit –with insoles
• Well-fitting gloves
• Knee Pads

IMPROVE YOUR PRACTICE

Avoid raising or extending your elbows when working with heavy tools or materials or repetitively.

• Avoid reaching more than 15 in. in front of the body for materials.
• Avoid repeatedly reaching above shoulder height, below waist level, or behind the body to minimize shoulder disorders.
• Avoid repetitive work that requires full arm extension (i.e., the elbow held straight and the arm extended).

• Avoid bending or rotating your wrist. Try bent-handle tools.
• Avoid tools that use a precision finger grip in favor of a full-hand power grip.
  
  
--Finger (pinch) grip is 5 times more stressful than power grip.

YOU MAY HAVE A PROBLEM IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS:

• Tingling
• Swelling in the joints
• Decreased ability to move limbs and joints
• Decreased grip strength
• Pain from movement, pressure, or exposure to cold or vibration
• Continual muscle fatigue
• Sore muscles
• Numbness (especially when sleeping)
• Change in the skin color of your hands or fingertips