Abstract
Medical manufacturing has shown great growth potential in Malaysia, and this sector has created numerous jobs for both local and foreign workers. The workers involved in this industry are exposed to ergonomic risk factors, which lead to discomfort in different body parts. Despite the numerous studies on occupational hazards and the prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs), little is known about the prevalence of WMSDs for workers working in the medical manufacturing facility, especially in Malaysia. Thus, the main objective of this study is to identify the prevalence of WMSDs among workers in the selected medical manufacturing industry in Malaysia. Structured interviews using Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) were conducted among 10 male workers (mean age of 44 ± 10.83 years, age range of 24–55 years, and working experience range of <1–27 years). The results indicate that the workers experienced the highest discomfort in three body parts; (1) lower back, (2) shoulders, and (3) upper back. The discomfort felt by the workers was 74.36%, 8.96% and 5.52% in the lower back, shoulders, and upper back, respectively. The findings of this study will provide an insight that could be useful for managers and occupational safety, and health officers in the medical manufacturing industry to prevent WMSDs.
Highlights
According to a report by the Department of Statistics, Malaysia Department of Statistics, Malaysia [1], Malaysia stood at RM121.2 billion in September 2020 for its sales in the manufacturing sector, which corresponds to an increase of 3.7% compared to the sales of the same month in the previous year
According to a statistical study by Hirschmann (2020), the number of people employed in the manufacturing industry in Malaysia from 2015 to 2019 was around 2.55 million people [1]
Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) may lead to low productivity, poor work quality, poor compensation and are the leading cause of absenteeism from work [7]
Summary
One of the many sectors that helps Malaysia to prosper economically is the manufacturing industry. The manufacturing industry in Malaysia is still human-depending. Despite the increasing use of automation in the manufacturing industry, the sector still needs human workers to perform several significant tasks [2]. Some of the tasks involve manual handling operations such as lifting, lowering, carrying, pushing, and pulling objects or materials [3,4,5]. Performing such tasks on a daily basis can lead to mild to severe occupational diseases or term as WMSDs [6]. WMSDs may lead to low productivity, poor work quality, poor compensation and are the leading cause of absenteeism from work [7]
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