[Detection and risk assessment of musculoskeletal disorders among the staffs employed in a dish manufacturing company using the QEC method and Nordic questionnaire]

Background and aim: Due to the high production rate and the manual nature of the manufacturing of Arc opal dishes the probability of the musculoskeletal disorder onset is high. The aim of present study was to detect and assess the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and its relation to the work pace among the staffs in one of the dishes manufacturing companies.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was carried out on the 100 staffs employed on the decoration section of the company that had job experience equal to one year. They was selected randomly. . To detect the disorders in different parts of the body and to assess the risk of MSDs were used Nordic questionnaireand QEC method respectively. Using SPSS15 software, we analyzed data that used one way ANOVA and Independent Sample t- test.

Results: The results from Nordic questionnaire revealed that the most prevalent disorders in past year related to back [93%], neck[89%], and shoulder[82%] regions respectively. The QEC showed that level of worker exposure with risk factors in back[53%], shoulder[58%], Wrist – Hand[71%] and neck[58%] regions is high. Also 71 percent of worker employees have inappropriate posture during work. A significant relation was found between the MSDs and the work pace.

Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of MSD and analyzing the related risk factors which signifying the risky condition of work environment, it proposed to apply the ergonomic intervention for reduction of work pace.

[Development and psychometrics of "safety climate assessment questionnaire"]

Eighty five percent of accidents can be attributed to unsafe acts. Eighty five to ninety eight percent of workplace injuries caused by unsafe acts are due to attitude, behavior and culture. Safety climate is a multi-dimensional structure that describes the attitude and the correct priority of the people towards the safety at work. To assess safety climate, a valid and reliable tool is needed. The aim of this study was developing a psychometric questionnaire to assess safety climate in Iran. Using safety literature and other safety climate questionnaire, a 96-item questionnaire was provided. Face validity, content validity ratio and index, construct validity, internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were investigated on 550 industrial employees .After validity index survey 43 items questionnaire were obtained. Principal factors were extracted using exploratory factor analysis by Varimax rotation method. To check the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha coefficients and Pearson correlation coefficient was used. For the face validity, CVR [78.5%] and CVI [0.75] related to safety climate designed questionnaire to be acceptable, eleven factors were extracted that covered 58.85 percent of total variance. Cronbach's alpha for most factors more than 0.7 were calculated and Spearman coefficient showed significant correlation between test and retest results. The Safety "Climate Assessment Questionnaire" which has been designed for 43 items and 11 factors has appropriate validity and reliability and can be used to assess the safety climate.