A Human-Centered Approach to Hazard Evaluation Checklists for the Risk of Back Pain in Manual Handling Tasks

Abstract

Low back pain is one the most common medical problems in the U.S. In workplaces, manual handling tasks show strong evidence for low back pain. Hazard Evaluation Checklists are commonly used as a rapid ergonomic assessment to evaluate the risk of back pain in manual handling tasks. However, this tool focuses on only job-specific tasks instead of aiming to detect the possibility of having back pain in individuals. It was proposed that a human-centered checklist that assesses workers’ welfare in addition to the analysis of the worksite might predict low back pain risk in workers more accurately. In the current study, a case study was conducted to show the importance of focusing on workers’ welfare. In the ergonomic assessment of a coffee shop, it was found that the tasks of baristas were more likely to cause low back pain and wrist pain. The barista who was working in housekeeping, mopping floors, reported that she suffers from low back pain more than wrist pain. However, the barista who was playing guitar professionally reported wrist pain. These case study findings supported the claim that the risk of occurrence of low back pain might increase with the combination of work-related tasks and contributory factors. Thus, a human-centered checklist proposed including four sub-categories: the main manual handling tasks, a second job, non-work related activities, and personal risk factors. It was proposed that efforts to limit low back pain in society might be more successful with this human-centered approach.