S. Gallagher, M. Schall, R. Sesek
Aug 8, 2018
Citations
0
Influential Citations
2
Citations
Journal
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing
Abstract
Job rotation is a common method employed by industry to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). However, the efficacy of this technique has been open to question and methods of quantifying the effects of job rotation strategies have been scarce. However, recent evidence has suggested that MSDs may be the result of a fatigue failure process, and new risk assessment tools have been developed that have the capability to assess the effects of various job rotation strategies on MSD risk. The current analysis uses the Lifting Fatigue Failure Tool (LiFFT) to assess cumulative loading for a simulated job rotation scheme. Results of this analysis suggest that attempting to “balance” a high risk, medium risk, and low risk lifting job ends up creating three jobs that are all high risk. Rotation may somewhat reduce the risk associated with the worst job, but this will be accompanied by a steep increase in risk faced by all other workers in the rotation pool.