An ergonomic intervention to reduce musculoskeletal discomfort among semiconductor assembly workers

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and ergonomics-related injuries are the single largest category of workplace injuries and are responsible for almost 30% of all worker's compensation costs. Awkward working posture refers to positions of the body that deviate significantly from the neutral position while job tasks are being performed and it is the primary ergonomic risk factor for developing musculoskeletal discomfort.

This study was conducted among assembly workers of a semiconductor in Tehran province with the objective of implementing an interventional ergonomic program to minimize musculoskeletal discomfort.

This study that was conducted on 105 male assembly workers of a semiconductor industry based on a census method. The standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was used to determine the prevalence of MSDs. Corlett and Bishop's body part discomfort scale (BPD) was applied to evaluate body discomfort before and after the intervention (using a magnifying loupes to improve visibility of the parts).

The results of NMQ showed the highest rate of MSDs were in neck, shoulder, upper arm and lower back regions (more than 75%). After ergonomic intervention, significant decrements of discomfort was observed in neck, shoulder, upper arm, elbows, lower arm, lower back and whole body discomfort (p < 0.05).

It can be concluded that using magnifying loupes reduced discomfort in different body regions and the whole body. A conclusion of this research is that ergonomic interventions can decrease MSDs of at risk body regions in the long term.