A Design Checklist for Control and Prediction of Cumulative Trauma Disorder in Intensive Manual Jobs

Abstract

The goal of this work was to improve productivity and prevent cumulative trauma disorders in manual work. Towards this end a design checklist was developed. The checklist contains twenty different questions with respect to physical factors that affect worker performance and stress—e.g., contact with sharp edges, vibration, size, and material of tool's handle etc. A score is given to indicate how well the factors on the list have been addressed. To provide immediate response to the user, the checklist was programmed and implemented on a personal computer (IBM PC). A pilot study was performed on seven jobs at one factory, using the computerized checklist. The analysis scores were correlated with the incidence rates of cumulative trauma disorders per 200,000 work hours in 1982 (r= −0.8678). These results support the feasibility of the use of a computerized checklist in job design. Future development of this system is discussed.