Ergonomic Assessment of Warehouse Activities in an Electric Utilities Company

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) constitute a significant problem in modern societies since they are responsible for occupational injury and disability. As a result, financial losses affect people, organizations, and society.Manual materials handling (MMH) activities are performed in many workplaces in several sectors of economic activity. They are one of the leading causes of disorders in the lumbar region. One concern of Ergonomics is to reduce the risk of MMH activities and preserve the safety and health of workers. Several assessment methods have been developed to guide MMH risk assessment.The present study aims to analyze the risk of three MMH activities daily performed by warehouse workers. It was developed at a Portuguese Electric Utilities Company. Six assessment methodologies - Revised NIOSH'91 Equation, Hidalgo Model, Shoaf Model, Mital Guide, KIM, and RAMP I – were applied to quantify the risk. A comparative analysis was carried out based on the results obtained by each methodology. After that, ergonomic intervention measures were suggested to eliminate, or at least reduce, the risk.