Abstract
Modern dairy operations have evolved into a highly specialized and precise industrialized process timed critically for maximum milk production. Milking cows is a series of carefully sequenced work tasks that can be characterized as rapid, repetitive, forceful and include awkward postures of the hands, wrists, forearms, arms and shoulders. Exposure assessment using Strain Index (SI) and HAL (Hand Activity Level) was conducted in six dairy parlors at five locations throughout the Colorado region for this pilot study to evaluate the utility of these ergonomic assessment methods in dairy parlors and to estimate risk for upper extremity (UE) musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among dairy parlor workers. Results from our pilot study suggest that dairy parlor work is stressful to the UE with increased risk for developing MSDs.
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