Work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the upper limbs in an auto components company

Abstract

This study was developed in a company producing electronic auto components, aiming to analyse the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in the assembly lines with higher prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in the upper limbs. It was intended to verify if there was any statistically significant association between "have musculoskeletal complaints" and some variables, like "working in a certain assembly line". The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was applied to one hundred workers to characterize the sample in relation to various aspects, including musculoskeletal complaints. Given the results of the questionnaires, three assembly lines were selected for further analysis. The methods Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and Strain Index (SI) were applied to the workstations of these lines, and it was found that some of them involving high risk of WMSDs due to inadequate postures, high muscular effort and repetitive movements. No statistically significant association between the "musculoskeletal complaints in different body areas" and "working in a specific assembly line" was found (p>0.05).