Investigation of ergonomic risk factors with work analysis of Rubber pulp production workers

This study was carried out to evaluate the musculoskeletal disorders (MSKD), work-activity risk analysis and psychological status of the rubber pulp production workers. 88 volunteer employees were recruited in this study from a factory with 114 employees in the rubber dough production department. A survey which has been designed specifically for this study were used to obtain information about work and ergonomic awareness and demographics. Afterwards, Nordick Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) for MSKD evaluations, Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) for activity and risk analysis and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) for psychological status were used. Video recordings, questionnaires and one-to-one interview techniques were used for evaluations. When the results were evaluated, it was found that most of the rubber dough production employees (87.4%) defined discomfort in at least one part of the body, most common in neck (39%), low back (36%), back (22%), and hip and thigh (3%) at the very least. Very few of the employees (3.4%) work at a high and very high risk level. And most of the employees (83%) had no psychological effects. In addition, there was no significant relationship between REBA, BDI, NMQ and beeing aware of ergonomic working conditions (p> 0.05). It was determined that the ones who had high level of education had higher level of knowledge about ergonomic work conditions (p <0.05). It was found that the employees who were not normal score based on the BDI received less reports than who had low score (p <0.05). As a result, it is concluded that the problems affecting the MSKD in employees are not only due to ergonomic adaptation at workplaces, but also it is possible to see MSKD in employees who work in technological workplaces. In addition to the factors for work life, it was thought that the evaluation of factors related to other performance areas for employees would be important for further studies. Keywords: Ergonomic risk factors, musculoskeletal disorders in workers, rubber pulp