Analysis of the Problems related to the Cumulative Trauma Disorders at Manufacturing Workplace and Development of a Risk Factor Checklist

제조업에서 발생하는 누적외상성질환 관련 문제점 분석 및 위험요인 점검표의 개발

Cumulative trauma disorders(CTDs) of the upper extremities among the workers at manufacturing workplace have become a serious problem in Korea. However, most of the studies on the CTDs carried out in this country have focused on the Video Display Terminal(VDT) operators. In fact, high rates of the CTDs have been reported for telecommunication employees, and the CTDs associated with VDT use in telecommunication industries pose great health and social problems in Korea today. On the other hand, there are few studies on the CTDs among the manufacturing workers, and the severity of the problem was much under-reported. This study reports and discusses the results of the literature review on the cross-sectional studies of the CTDs, along with the analysis of the problems associated with identification, medical examinations, and ergonomic evaluation of the disorders. Also a checklist was developed for the use of quick screening tool for risk factor analysis. Consistency of the checklist was validated with the field studies of several manufacturing workplace. Current issues and suggestions for future ergonomic studies are also addressed.