RAMP 2.0 – Further Development of the RAMP Tool

Abstract

RAMP (Risk Assessment and Management tool for manual handling – Proactively), a freely accessible MSD risk management tool for manual handling work, was launched 2017 to contribute to the reduction of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risks for manual handling work-tasks. The tool is currently developed further, using an iterative participative methodology, to: i) enhance the RAMP tool’s application range, mainly to include hand-intensive work, ii) develop a system version of the tool, and iii) include key performance indicators (KPIs). A needs analysis resulted in 99 identified needs. Regarding i), six needs were assessed as “very important to include” to enhance the application range. A literature study focusing on relevant risk factors and how exposure to them is associated with MSD risks was carried out and first drafts of a model for assessing risks in hand-intensive work are iteratively developed, using feedback from intended users. Regarding ii), 50 needs and suggestions on what to consider when developing a databased system version of the RAMP tool were identified. Prototypes of parts of the system-version are iteratively developed, using intended users’ feedback. Regarding iii), the needs analysis resulted in 16 suggested KPIs, including KPIs based solely on RAMP results and KPIs which can be established combining RAMP results and company data. The project is ongoing. An enhanced RAMP tool, RAMP 2.0, with the abovementioned expansions could support MSD risk assessment and risk management in systematic MSD risks reduction work for a wide range of work tasks.