A Study of Musculoskeletal Disorders at Automobile Industries in Korea

국내 자동차산업의 근골격계질환 실태에 관한 연구

A series of studies with collaboration of university, research institute, and labor union were conducted to examine the situation and severity of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) at an automobile company which is one of the three major car companies in Korea. As the first part of the study, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 4,000 employees at 2 different assembly sites and A/S centers over the country. The questionnaire was consisted of three parts; symptom survey, work environment information, and labor intensity survey. Among 4,000 questionnaires, 2,643 responses were considered for analysis. The result showed that 68.5% of the respondents complained pains on at least one part of the body and 48.8% on at least two parts of the body. After cross-sectional analysis of various information and risk factors such as severity of symptom, duration and frequency of pain, 31.5% of respondents were considered as at high risk of having MSDs. This high-risk rate showed similar result when compared with previous studies conducted at various manufacturing industries in Korea. Also the analysis of the work environment and job intensity survey supported the high-risk rate of MSDs.