Physical Work Activities and Conditions

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT A PRACTICAL APPROACH 

Employers should examine a job in which an MSD has occurred to identify the physical work activities and woikplace conditions and then evaluate the risk factors to assess the woik environment. 

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The physical work activities and conditions in the job are reasonably likely to cause or contribute to the type of MSD reported and... 

You must remember that there are likely to be situations in which the physical work activities or conditions only pose a risk to the reporting employee. For example, an employee in a commercial bakery may report a back or shoulder MSD related to extended reaches involved in sorting rolls. However, other employees who have performed the job for several years do not have (and never have had) difficulties performing the physical work activities of the job. In this case, it might be concluded that the problem is limited to the injured employee. In this situation, you would limit the response (e.g., analysis, control, or training) to physical work activities and conditions confronting that injured employee. 

Table 11.2 Tasks and Their Risk Factors Physical Work Activities and Conditions...

Physical Work Activities and Conditions Ergonomic Risk Factors That May Be Present Examples of Controls... 

Consult with employee(s) in the problem job about the physical work activities or conditions of the job they associate with the difficulties, observe the employee(s) performing the job to identify whether any risk factors are present, and ask employee(s) for recommendations for eliminating the MSD hazard... 

Ask the employees whether performing the job poses physical difficulties and, if so, which physical work activities or conditions of the job they associate with the difficulties. 

Observe the employees performing the job to identify which of the physiced work activities, workplace conditions, and ergonomic risk factors are present. 

Duration refers to the length of time an anployee is continually exposed to risk factors. The duration of job tasks can have a substantial effect on the likelihood of both localized and general fatigue. Table 11.4 shows the physical work activities and workplace conditions that are associated with those physical aspects. 

Injuries and disorders of the mnscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage, and spinal disc dne to physical work activities or workplace conditions in the job. Examples inclnde carpal tnnnel syndrome related to long-term compnter data entry, rotator cnff tendonitis from repeated overhead reaching, and tension neck syndrome associated with long-term cervical spine flexion. 

Work in an impermeable protective snit is a physical strain. The suit limits heat and moisture transport, which leads to elevation of skin and core temperature. This can resnlt in various health effects ranging from transient heat fatigue to serious illness, even death. The type of the clothing and its ventilation, the work activity, climate conditions, and the characteristics of the wearer of the clothing all influence the development of the heat stress. 

This paper deals with the plate-out characteristics of a variety of materials such as metals, plastics, fabrics and powders to the decay products of radon and thoron under laboratory-controlled conditions. In a previous paper, the author reported on measurements on the attachment rate and deposition velocity of radon and thoron decay products (Bigu, 1985). In these experiments, stainless steel discs and filter paper were used. At the time, the assumption was made that the surface a-activity measured was independent of the chemical and physical nature, and conditions, of the surface on which the products were deposited. The present work was partly aimed at verifying this assumption. 

The proteome is the set of expressed proteins at a given time under defined conditions it is dynamic and varies according to the cell type and functional state. One of the main differences when working with proteins is that there is not an amplification methodology for proteins comparable to PCR. Physical and chemical diversity of proteins are also higher than nucleic acids. They differ among individuals, cell types, and within the same cell depending on cell activity and state. In addition, there are hundreds of different types of post-translational modifications (PTMs), which evidently will influence chemical properties and functions of proteins. PTMs are key to the control and... 

Other task considerations dealing with the content of the task that ate related to the physical requirements include the pace or rate of work, the amount of repetition in task activities, and work pressure due to production demands. Task activities that are highly repetitive and paced by machinety rather than by the employee tend to be stressful. Such conditions also diminish an employee s attention to hazards and the capability to respond to a hazard due to boredom. These conditions may produce cumulative trauma disorders to the musculoskeletal system when the task activity cycle time is short and constant. Tasks with relatively low workload and energy expenditure can be very hazardous due to the high frequency of muscle and joint motions and boredom, which leads to employee inattention to hazards. 

The physical work conditions are the result of a safety management system and are a visual indicator of a positive culture or lack thereof. No amount of paperwork or policies, meetings, or other safety activities can be said to be working if the physical conditions of the plant are not immaculate. The physical state of the workplace is a reflection of the efficiency of the safety system. 

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