Authors: Amin Yazdani, Ben Sawicki, Grace Schwenck, Richard Wells
Journal: IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
·
Journal: IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
Abstract:
Background: Small businesses do not typically have either the human or financial resources necessary to develop health and safety programs. The traditional cycle of identify, assess, control, and check is challenging for these businesses in terms of general workplace hazards, but is more problematic for musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) related hazards. Purpose: To determine the level of awareness of MSD prevention methods and explore prevention strategies and approaches used by micro and small businesses. Methods: A total of 146 micro and small businesses in the Kitchener-Waterloo area in Ontario, Canada participated in this study. Surveys of owners and managers were completed to assess their knowledge and awareness of MSD, hazard identification, and controls. Results: Over 40% of respondents did not know or were unsure how to identify physical demands in their workplace that might need reduction. Less than 10% of small business respondents suggested that using weights lifted, dimensions, or posture is important in MSD hazard identification. Most respondents (79%) believed they knew how to reduce injury risk; however, administrative controls dominated (57%) the workplace control strategies described, especially “proper lifting,” while engineering controls comprised only 18%. Most approaches to prevent MSD were reactive. There was a preference for traditional forms of information presentation on MSD prevention, such as posters or brochures. Conclusion: There is a lack of awareness among micro and small business regarding MSD hazards and control solutions. Our results suggest that education and support programs for micro and small businesses need to focus on awareness using simple and direct messages, and that prevention activities need to focus on easy, step-by-step guidelines tailored for such businesses.
Background: Small businesses do not typically have either the human or financial resources necessary to develop health and safety programs. The traditional cycle of identify, assess, control, and check is challenging for these businesses in terms of general workplace hazards, but is more problematic for musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) related hazards. Purpose: To determine the level of awareness of MSD prevention methods and explore prevention strategies and approaches used by micro and small businesses. Methods: A total of 146 micro and small businesses in the Kitchener-Waterloo area in Ontario, Canada participated in this study. Surveys of owners and managers were completed to assess their knowledge and awareness of MSD, hazard identification, and controls. Results: Over 40% of respondents did not know or were unsure how to identify physical demands in their workplace that might need reduction. Less than 10% of small business respondents suggested that using weights lifted, dimensions, or posture is important in MSD hazard identification. Most respondents (79%) believed they knew how to reduce injury risk; however, administrative controls dominated (57%) the workplace control strategies described, especially “proper lifting,” while engineering controls comprised only 18%. Most approaches to prevent MSD were reactive. There was a preference for traditional forms of information presentation on MSD prevention, such as posters or brochures. Conclusion: There is a lack of awareness among micro and small business regarding MSD hazards and control solutions. Our results suggest that education and support programs for micro and small businesses need to focus on awareness using simple and direct messages, and that prevention activities need to focus on easy, step-by-step guidelines tailored for such businesses.