Occupational Safety Professionals Research Articles

Risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders among workers in Brazil: A structural equation model approach

This study aimed to verify the direct and indirect influence of risk factors on the symptoms of WMSDs in the thigh, leg, and foot among workers in the inner regions of Brazil. Research tested a structural equation model (SEM) that describes hypothetical relationships between risk factors and WMSDs. Questionnaires were used to collect data on sociodemographic, occupational, biomechanical, and psychosocial factors, and pain symptoms about 420 workers. The results showed that different factors directly affect the thigh, leg, and foot. Maintaining the lower limbs in uncomfortable positions increases the chances of developing WMSDs in the thigh (β = 0.219; p-value <0.001), leg (β = 0.223; p-value <0.001), and foot (β = 0.158; p-value <0.01). Most psychosocial factors attenuate psychosocial stress, which in turn directly alleviates WMSD symptoms in the thigh (β = −0.502; p-value <0.001), leg (β = −0.315; p-value <0.01), and foot (β = −0.246; p-value <0.01). Factors were also found to uniquely affect aspects such as “another job” (β = −0.246; p-value <0.01) in the leg and effort (β = 0.146; p-value <0.05) in the foot. It was concluded that multiple factors influence the development of WMSDs in the lower limbs. These findings contribute to the existing knowledge on the causes of WMSDs and can help improve working conditions for the population under study. Therefore, managers and health, ergonomics, and occupational safety professionals can use the findings to develop more precise strategies to reduce the impacts of WMSDs on workers.

Long-term effects and user acceptance of back-support exoskeletons in the workplace

The aim of our study was to evaluate the long-term effects of back-support exoskeletons (BSEs) in occupational settings. Valuable insights were gained through repeated in-depth interviews with occupational safety professionals over a one-year period regarding the use and impact of BSEs over a one-year period. The results highlight a significant lack of user acceptance, primarily due to movement restrictions and discomfort. Passive BSEs (PassEXOs) were reported to be sometimes uncomfortable, restricting mobility and causing pressure point discomfort, while quasipassive soft BSEs (SoftEXO) received more positive feedback. In addition, factors such as proper fit, adjustability, hygiene maintenance, and the ease of donning and doffing were identified as key determinants of employee acceptance of BSEs. By gaining a deeper understanding of these factors, organisations can facilitate a successful and sustainable integration of BSE technology into the workplace.

Solar installation occupational risks: A systematic review

The adoption of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology and infrastructure are increasing rapidly to meet the ever-growing global need for renewable energy sources. An obstacle to solar PV growth is the severity of the occupational safety risks associated with their installation. Although PV installers are known to experience some of the most significant and widespread construction-related occupational safety risks, PV installer accident investigation research, reporting, and verification are limited. To contribute to this literature gap, this paper conducts a systematic literature review to understand and present the occupational safety risks, mitigation measures, and current and potential safety research areas associated with PV installations. A systematic literature search for relevant articles was conducted from October 2021 to January 2022 using the Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, and PubMed databases identifying 365 articles by their title. After screening these articles with various selection criteria, 31 articles were selected as relevant to the research questions of this study. These selected articles identified electrical and fire risks, heat stress, manual handling risks, and fall risks as the major occupational safety risk categories associated with PV installations. This study can aid solar installation companies, occupational safety professionals, and policymakers in gaining a deeper understanding of the safety risks and mitigation measures associated with PV installations as they develop protocols and guidelines to safely support the solar workforce’s development.

Exploring Certified Hand Therapists roles in workplace injury prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and collaboration with occupational safety professionals.

Certified Hand Therapy is a subset of occupational/physical therapy that is relatively unknown to the common individual. Certified Hand Therapists (CHTs) help those with upper extremity injuries, whether it be those with workplace injuries, those who suffered a traumatic injury or those recovering from major surgery to reach the point where they are able to be independent and back to doing daily life activities. This study aimed to discern the roles that Certified Hand Therapists have in rehabilitating individuals with upper extremity injuries, to assess their participation in work-related injury prevention, to examine with whom CHTs interact during the rehabilitation process, and to gain insight into how the relationships between CHTs and occupational safety professionals can be improved. Structured interviews were conducted with eight occupational therapists who are Certified Hand Therapists or are in the process of being certified. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed to determine themes relative to the study objectives. Content analyses determined trends in job roles, interactions with occupational safety professionals, the importance of patient education in prevention and rehabilitation and barriers to effective treatment of work-related injuries. CHTs shared similar thoughts regarding their profession. CHTs revealed common themes in the eight interviews conducted. Specifically, many CHTs believe education is a vital part of the profession in terms of improving the profession and in the rehabilitation process. In addition, patient compliance and the current workers' compensation system were seen as challenges when rehabilitating patients.

All-Russian Olympiad for labor protection specialists

The main task of a labor protection specialist is to prevent occupational diseases and accidents at enterprises. To do this, it is necessary to reduce the impact on workers of harmful factors. The All-Russian Labor Protection Olympiad, which is held annually by Aktion Labor Protection with the support of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation and Rostrud, is dedicated to the prevention of hazards and health protection. Igor Ivannikov, a leading expert on labor law at Aktion Okhrana Truda, a representative of the organizers of the All-Russian Olympiad for Occupational Safety Professionals, talks about how the Olympiad was held, the success of the winners and the future of the Olympiad.

Tuberculose em trabalhadores de serviços de saúde

Desde o início dos anos setenta do século passado vários autores apontam a tuberculose (TB) como risco à saúde dos trabalhadores de serviços de saúde. Estudos evidenciam que estes profissionais têm quatro vezes mais chance de adoecer por TB que a população em geral e que profissionais de saúde em atividade em hospitais têm taxa de teste tuberculínico positivo de 63,1% e conversão em 8,7% (10,7 por 1.000 pessoas/mês). São apontados como fatores de risco associados à conversão ao teste tuberculínico: (1) exposição nosocomial a paciente com TB pulmonar; (2) categoria profissional de enfermeiro; e (3) ausência de medidas de biossegurança implantadas no hospital. Vários autores apontam: (1) taxa de infecção muito elevada entre profissionais da saúde, o que se torna em objeto de preocupação tanto para a equipe de controle de infecção do ambiente de saúde quanto para os profissionais de segurança do trabalho; (2) uma taxa de positividade ao teste tuberculínico de 26,7% nos profissionais de saúde, tendo a maioria desses trabalhadores contato direto com paciente com tuberculose bacilífera; e (3) que os profissionais com menos de quatro anos de exposição ao bacilo apresentam taxas maiores de positividade ao teste. De acordo com os dados da Divisão de Tuberculose do Centro de Vigilância Epidemiológica da Secretaria da Saúde do Estado de São Paulo, considerando os anos de 2006 a 2016, são notificados em média 210 casos novos da doença em trabalhadores de serviços de saúde. Diante deste cenário e da urgência de implantação de ações preventivas específicas para o conjunto dos trabalhadores potencialmente expostos ao Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Bacilo de Koch ou BK) constituiu-se um Grupo de Trabalho (GT) para construção de um Protocolo de Prevenção de Tuberculose Ocupacional (PPTO). O objetivo deste artigo é fundamentar a elaboração deste instrumento de prevenção de uma doença ocupacional grave e de promoção da saúde dos trabalhadores potencialmente expostos.

Obtaining FMEA’s indices for occupational safety in civil construction: a theoretical contribution

Highlights: 1- Severity, occurrence and detection indices were obtained for specific use in construction safety; 2- Important theoretical contribution to the use of FMEA in safety of construction work; 3- Obtaining the S, O and D indices better suited to civil construction will encourage the use of FMEA in the area; 4- A quick reference table of S, O and D indexes was proposed for use by occupational safety professionals; 5- The quick reference table will allow the RPNs of the fault modes to be safely compared between different situations and different applicators.&#x0D; Goal: The achievement of FMEA indices better adapted to the area of occupational safety in construction. From a quick reference table, the use of the FMEA will be facilitated by professionals in the area.&#x0D; Design / Methodology / Approach: For the elaboration of this work were carried out researches in the literature available in scientific journals on the subject. To obtain the severity tables, the conversion of concepts of maintenance and reliability to concepts of accident severity was performed. For the occurrence table the Ford Handbook model was used (FORD, 2011), and as the database of accident statistics the most up-to-date social security yearbook was used (FAZENDA, 2016). For the detection table, a detection index model was proposed that was discussed based on commonly used risk management procedures and tools.&#x0D; Results: Individual tables were obtained for each FMEA index. The indices were adapted to the reality of the application of FMEA in work safety in construction. From the individual tables, a quick reference table containing the three FMEA indices related to the qualitative scale of each was obtained.&#x0D; Limitations of the investigation: The study limits itself to adapting the FMEA indices for work safety in construction. This study may serve as a basis for future studies on obtaining the FMEA indexes for work safety applied in other areas of activities, requiring adequate scientific sources. Regarding the validation of the indices, it is noticeable the difficulty of comparing these indices proposed in this work with indices applied subjectively and without scientific reference, relying only on the skill and previous experience of the applicator. However, it is reasonable to say that the FMEAS applied with the indices obtained in this work will have a better accuracy in representing the reality, regardless of the applicator's ability.&#x0D; Practical implications: Reduce the difficulties in choosing the S, O and D indices for the application of FMEA in construction safety, reduce the inaccuracy in obtaining the risk priority number for failure modes and diffuse the use of FMEA for risk analysis and prevention occupations in construction are the main theoretical implications of this work.&#x0D; Originality / Value: there are studies in the literature on the application of FMEA in various areas - maintenance and product development, for example - but there is very little research on the application of FMEA in occupational safety. In addition, FMEA application studies cite the difficulty of choosing the S, O and D indices, but there is an absence of studies seeking solutions to this imprecision. In this sense, this work seeks to contribute to a choice of the FMEA indexes, which is easier and more efficient due to the better adaptation of the same to the occupational safety area in civil construction.