Risk Assessment on Filipino Construction Workers

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The Philippines employs more than 2 million construction workers .[1] Due to the nature of this industry, the workers are constantly exposed to dangerous environments and are at high risks for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). MSDs comprise of 30% of all recorded occupational injuries of construction workers in the country .[2] Two methods were used to assess the risks associated to construction tasks: subjective assessment through survey and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) & Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). A survey based on the Standardized Nordic Questionnaires for the Analysis of Musculoskeletal Symptoms was conducted to assess the different types of pain as perceived by Filipino construction workers when doing their jobs. A numerical rating scale was used in the survey. The results show that all tasks performed cause mild to tolerable intensities of pain. The tasks that are most difficult and most frequently done by the workers were evaluated using the RULA and REBA. The results show that all of the tasks considered in the analysis, such as chipping, demolishing, and welding, pose a risk to the well being of the worker. The RULA and REBA scores range from 4 to 7 and from 5 to 11, respectively, which indicate that change in the tasks must be implemented. Using statistical analysis, the results from the survey and the RULA were found to have only a 0.10 correlation, while the results from the survey and the REBA were found to have a 0.46 correlation. These correlation values show an inconsistency between the results of the subjective and the objective assessment methods. These suggest that although the pain may still be tolerable to the subjects, the tasks may pose high risks for MSDs from an ergonomic point of view. The results from subjective assessment methods do not reflect the actual risks indicated by the results of the quantitative RULA and REBA, which suggest that it is not sufficient to rely on subjective assessment methods alone. From the results of RULA and REBA analyses, it is therefore necessary for the tasks to be further assessed and redesigned to improve the methods and techniques used to safely carry them out.