Work organisation constructs and ergonomic outcomes among European forest machine operators

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics
• Occupational Health
• Forestry Operations

Background:

• Forest machine operators face work organization challenges.
• Ergonomic outcomes are crucial for operator well-being and performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop work organization constructs for forest machine operators.
• To investigate the links between these constructs and ergonomic outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Questionnaire survey of 358 forest machine operators across six European countries.
• Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to define work organization constructs.
• Multiple regression analyses to assess relationships with ergonomic outcomes.

Main Results:

• A five-factor work organization structure was identified: job control, variation, job rotation, breaks, and rate of work.
• Significant models were found for job satisfaction, musculoskeletal symptoms, and headache/sleeping problems.
• Job rotation showed a significant contribution across all models, with job satisfaction exhibiting the highest explained variance (R=0.51).

Conclusions:

• Work organization constructs, particularly job rotation, significantly influence forest machine operator health and job satisfaction.
• Findings provide evidence for ergonomic improvements in work organization within the forestry sector.
• Results contributed to the 'ErgoWood' project's handbook for mechanized forest operations.