Ergonomics awareness, working posture and muscle fatigue among industry workers and their relationship with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) symptoms: a case study

Abstract

Ergonomic awareness in the industry is deemed to be low and that the increasing trend involving musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) has been reported. This can be attributed to several factors which include the lack of training which focuses on ergonomics and its weak implementation in the manufacturing industry. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship of ergonomic awareness, postures and muscle fatigue with MSDs symptoms. The results have shown that there is no significant relationship between ergonomic awareness and the MSDs symptoms. However, there is strong significance between MSDs symptoms and muscle fatigue. REBA analysis has shown that all the workers have worked in unhealthy postures especially in the lower extremities. As conclusion, it is vital to educate the workers with the correct postures and ergonomic training to reduce the chance of muscular fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the long run.