Citation

Straker L, Burgess-Limerick R, Pollock C, Egeskov R. Ergonomics 2004; 47(2): 166-188.

Affiliation

School of Physiotherapy, Curtin University of Technology, Australia. L.Straker@curtin.edu.au

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00140130310001617949

PMID

14660211

Abstract

A participative ergonomics approach to reducing injuries associated with manual tasks is widely promoted; however only limited evidence from uncontrolled trials has been available to support the efficacy of such an approach. This paper reports on a randomized and controlled trial of PErforM, a participative ergonomics intervention designed to reduce the risks of injury associated with manual tasks. One hundred and seventeen small to medium sized food, construction, and health workplaces were audited by government inspectors using a manual tasks risk assessment tool (ManTRA). Forty-eight volunteer workplaces were then randomly assigned to Experimental and Control groups with the Experimental group receiving the PErforM program. Inspectors audited the workplaces again, 9 months following the intervention. The results showed a significant decrease in estimates of manual task risk and suggested better legal compliance in the Experimental group.

Language: en