Investigating the Relationship Between Environmental and Cognitive Ergonomics with Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Case Study in an Automobile Industry.

Background: Cognitive and environmental parameters are among the most important influencing factors in the prevalence of WRMSDs, which have been studied less compared to physical ergonomic in automobile industry.

Objective: This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between environmental and cognitive ergonomics with the prevalence of WRMSDs in an automotive industry.

Methods: This study was conducted in 2023 in an automobile company. The sample size was 740 workers. The prevalence of WRMSDs was assessed using the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire. Occupational stress, mental workload, sleep quality, and cognitive failure were assessed by Job Content Questionnaire, NASA-TLX Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Cognitive Failure Questionnaire, respectively. Noise were measured by KIMO-DB300 sound analyzer. The intensity of lighting was measured using a Hanger Screen Master illuminance meter. Heat stress was measured by Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT).

Results: 72.58% reported the musculoskeletal disorders in at least one of their body parts during the past 12 months. The average values of occupational stress, mental workload, sleep quality, and cognitive failure among workers with WRMSDs were higher than the participants without WRMSDs (p-value < 0.05). There was a significant difference between the values of all studied physical harmful factors between the two investigated groups, except thermal stress (p-value < 0.05).

Conclusion: Findings from this study highlight the critical need for a holistic approach that considers both the external work environment and internal cognitive processes to effectively prevent and manage WRMSDs among automobile industry workers.