The Development of a Checklist for Quantitative Assessment of Risk Factors and Management of Cumulative Trauma Disorders : Application to Automobile Assembly Lines

누적외상성질환 위험 요인의 정량적 평가 및 관리를 위한 점검표 개발 -자동차 조립 작업을 중심으로-

Objectives : This study was designed to develop and standardize a checklist for ergonomic risk factors, and to provide ergonomic guidelines for managing cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) in automobile assembly lines. Methods : The Checklist for Ergonomic Risk Factors (CERF-1) was developed based on the results of previous studies, and then modified after performing pilot study. Information on the symptoms possibly related with CTDs was obtained using a self-reported Questionnaire from 465 automobile assembly workers. Their job conditions were examined to assess risk factors through both direct observation and video analysis. Results : Rate of detecting risky job through CERF-1 was 85.6%, and was similar to that (88.8%) by Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration(OSHA) checklist but higher than that (63.7%) by American National Standards Institute(ANSI) Z-365. Relationship of the exposure scores derived from CERF-1 with levels of symptom was greater (r=0.49) than OSHA (r=0.28) and ANSI Z-365 (r=0.22). Considering the relationship, jobs scoring higher than 16 could be classified as the Risk Job. and lower than 16 as the Low Risk Job. Sensitivity and specificity of the Risk Job were 92.5 % and 31.5 %, respectively. Odds ratio (OR) after age adjustment was 5.69 (95 % confidence interval 3.15-10.29) for the Risk Job, and these ORs were significantly different from those of the Low Risk Job. The exposure scores were Quite valid, in that the scores at the main survey were significantly correlated with those at the follow-up survey, as suggested by test-retest(r=0.88) and inter-rater reliability(r=0.80). Conclusions : The CERF-1, developed in this study, will be an efficient tool for evaluation of risk jobs for CTDs in automobile assembly lines, and can be used easily by health care providers.