INTERNET-BASED BEHAVIOR OF IT PROFESSIONALS: IMPLICATIONS FOR ONLINE ERGONOMIC EDUCATION TO PREVENT WORK-RELATED MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS By Priyadarshini Pattath, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2017 Director: Dr. Robin Hurst, Assistant Professor of Adult Learning, Teaching and Learning, School of Education The purpose of this study was to explore the preferences of medium of ergonomic education and views about self-directed online training modules to prevent musculoskeletal disorders in computer professionals and understand their perspectives and experiences about online health information seeking using a self-directed learning framework. To accomplish this, a qualitative research design was used to analyze data from interviews and observation. An exploratory case study research design was employed to examine the experiences of fifteen information technology professionals. The findings revealed that the preference for the mode of delivery of ergonomic education depends on the individual attitude and on the perceived attributes of the particular mode of delivery. The findings highlighted the role of the Internet in making significant lifestyle and contextual modifications. Finally, the findings highlighted the barriers that were faced when seeking health information on the Internet. The findings of this study were limited by the nature of the research and sample size. Additional research is needed to support the findings. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The wrist is a body part that can be used during repetitive movements in many work environments. There is a need to measure these movements in order to notice harmful repetitive movements in advance. There are many different ways to measure these movements, such as with the use of a depth camera. The goal of this study is to determine if this can be done with high precision compared to other technologies. In order to determine this, an application was created that used several different technologies and libraries to track and pinpoint the hand’s and forearm’s location in each frame. With these locations, together with timestamps from the frames, the angular velocity of the wrist could be calculated. The recordings were made in several different test cases with factors such as background, clothes and lighting changing in each test. In order to compare the depth cameras values, a golden standard had to be set. The depth camera’s recorded values were compared to the golden standard’s recorded values by displaying the values on a graph and by calculating the root mean squared error as well as the mean absolute error. The results indicated that a depth camera can be used to measure wrist movements relatively accurately, even with more advanced movements relative to this study. The result also showed that the depth camera had problems in some test cases. / Handleden är en kroppsdel som kan användas under repetitiva rörelser i många arbetsmiljöer. Det finns ett behov av att mäta dessa rörelser för att upptäcka skadliga repetitiva rörelser i förväg. Det finns många olika sätt att mäta dessa rörelser, till exempel med hjälp av en djupkamera. Målet med denna studie är att avgöra om detta kan göras med hög precision jämfört med andra teknologier. För att avgöra detta skapades en applikation som använder flera olika teknologier och bibliotek för att spåra och lokalisera handens och underarmens position i varje bildruta. Med hjälp av dessa positioner, tillsammans med tidsstämplar från bildrutorna, kunde vinkelhastigheten för handleden beräknas. Inspelningarna gjordes i flera olika testfall där faktorer som bakgrund, kläder och belysning ändrades i varje test. För att kunna jämföra djupkamerans värden behövdes en referensstandard fastställas. Djupkamerans inspelade värden jämfördes med referensstandardens inspelade värden genom att visa värdena på en graf och beräkna rotmedelkvadratfelet samt medelabsolutfelet. Resultaten indikerade att en djupkamera kan användas för att mäta handledsrörelser relativt noggrant, även med mer avancerade rörelser i förhållande till denna studie. Resultatet visade även att djupkameran hade problem i vissa testfall.

Surgeons have been identified as one of the highest risk groups in healthcare to develop work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). Especially the neck and shoulders are found to be at high musculoskeletal risk due to surgeons commonly operating in a static and awkward posture for a prolonged time. Raising ergonomic awareness has been found to favour postural improvement among healthcare professionals. This thesis therefore aimed to design and evaluate an individual ergonomic report as means for risk assessment and ergonomic education for surgeons. Hereby, two surgeons and two ergonomists were included in the design process for early user feedback. Thematic analysis was applied to analyse the user feedback and potential improvements were identified and performed. The final individual ergonomic report was evaluated as a material used in an individual educational session (i.e., the intervention group) and compared against the use of an ergonomic guideline (i.e., the control group). Each group consisted of two surgeons. Both questionnaire and semi-structured interview were used to evaluate the session. The results from the questionnaire showed similarly positive ratings on the user experience of both groups, but higher ratings were given on the perceived impact by the intervention group. The interview results also showed more positive responses by the intervention group in terms of the usability. Furthermore, facilitators and barriers for adopting ergonomic principles were collected from the surgeons. Multiple ways to improve surgical ergonomics as perceived by the surgeons were also identified, e.g., the use of ergonomic equipment, and implementation of stretch breaks in the OR. The results show the potential of an individual ergonomic assessment report as ergonomic intervention for surgeons to raise their awareness and knowledge about ergonomic principles which can contribute to decreasing their risk of developing WMSDs as well as improved surgical performance and patient safety. Future studies can regard further ergonomic risk parameters and incorporate practical instructions on ergonomic principles into educational ergonomic intervention. / Kirurger har identifierats som en av de högsta riskgrupperna inom hälso- och sjukvården att utveckla arbetsrelaterade belastningsskador. Särskilt nacke och axlar har visat sig ha hög risk för belastningsskador på grund av att kirurger ofta arbetar i en statisk och ogynnsam kroppsställning under en längre tid. Att öka den ergonomiska medvetenheten har visat sig gynna en förbättring av arbetsställning bland vårdpersonal. Denna avhandling syftade därför till att utforma och utvärdera en individuell ergonomisk rapport som ett medel för riskbedömning och ergonomisk utbildning bland kirurger. Två kirurger och två ergonomer deltog i designprocessen och tidig användarfeedback samlades. Tematisk analys användes för att analysera användarfeedback och potentiella förbättringar identifierades och genomfördes. Den slutliga individuella ergonomirapporten utvärderades som ett material som användes i en individuell utbildningssession (dvs interventionsgruppen) och jämfördes med användningen av en broschyr på kirurgergonomi (dvs kontrollgruppen). Varje grupp bestod av två kirurger. Både frågeformulär och semistrukturerad intervju användes för att utvärdera utbildningssessionen. Resultaten från frågeformuläret visade lika positiva användarupplevelse betyg från båda grupperna, men högre betyg gavs på den upplevda effekten av interventionsgruppen. Dessutom identifierades faciliteter och barriärer för att anta ergonomiska principer från kirurgerna. Flera sätt att förbättra kirurgisk ergonomi som uppfattades av kirurgerna identifierades också, till exempel användning av ergonomisk utrustning och implementering av sträcknings pausar i operationssalen. Resultaten visar att individuell ergonomisk bedömningsrapport som ergonomisk intervention för kirurger har potential för att öka medvetenhet och kunskap om ergonomiska principer. Detta kan bidra till att minska kirurgers risk att utveckla arbetsrelaterade belastningsskador samt förbättrad kirurgisk prestanda och patientsäkerhet. Framtida studier kan ta hänsyn till ytterligare ergonomiska riskparametrar och införliva praktiska instruktioner om ergonomiska principer i pedagogisk ergonomisk intervention.

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Objetivo: analisar a organização do trabalho no desenvolvimento das Lesões por Esforços Repetitivos/ Distúrbios Osteomusculares Relacionados ao Trabalho - LER/DORT, em taquígrafos de ambos os sexos, de duas Casas Parlamentares na região metropolitana de São Paulo. Método: estudo qualitativo; os instrumentos de coleta utilizados foram: entrevista individual, observação do trabalho e questionário de saúde e trabalho, composto de questões de identificação, estilo de vida, dados ocupacionais e de morbidade e o Questionário Nórdico de Sintomas Osteomusculares. Resultados: Identificaram-se fatores biomecânicos como prováveis causas de LER/DORT, tais como: manutenção de postura estática e movimentos repetitivos de digitação / manuseio de gravador; e aspectos da organização do trabalho, como por exemplo: divisão de tarefas por ciclos de tempo, pessoal reduzido, horários e pausas irregulares. Os taquígrafos relataram: exigências física, cognitiva, sensorial e psicológica do treinamento/ trabalho, pressão temporal, receio de errar, sobrecarga de trabalho nos períodos de pico e desgaste motivado pela disponibilidade integral de horários. Os trabalhadores identificaram como causas de LER/DORT: as dimensões temporal, ambiental, e da ação do trabalho, bem como aspectos individuais e condições fora do trabalho. Conclusões: (a) A taquigrafia parlamentar caracteriza-se pela fragmentação das tarefas, ritmo imposto e prazos rígidos, semelhante a uma linha de montagem; (b) aspectos da organização do trabalho podem influenciar a sobrecarga biomecânica e o aumento no tempo de exposição ao risco para LER/DORT entre taquígrafos; (c) para serem eficazes, medidas preventivas devem considerar os aspectos biomecânicos, bem como as características da organização do trabalho e a participação dos trabalhadores. / Objective: to analyze some of the relevant aspects of work organization in the development of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders- WRMSD among male and female shorthand typists, in two parliamentary institutions in the metropolitan area of the city of São Paulo. Method: qualitative study; the instruments used to collect data have been: individual interview, observation of the work and questionnaire of health and work, composed of identification, occupational and morbidity questions and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Results: Biomechanical factors such as the maintenance of static posture and the repetitive movements of typing / handling the voice recorder have been identified as probable WRMSD causes; as well as some aspects of work organization, such as: task division in time cycles, reduced staff, irregular schedules and breaks. The shorthand typists have spoken about: physical, cognitive, sensorial and psychological requirements of training/work, time pressure, fear of making mistakes, work overload in rush periods and strain caused by the full-time availability schedule. The workers have come up with WRMSK causes: time, environmental and action dimensions of their work, as well as individual aspects and extra-work conditions. Conclusions: (a) The parliamentary shorthand typing work is characterized by divided tasks, rigid work rhythm and deadlines, like a factory assembly-line; (b) several elements of work organization may influence the biomechanical overload and it may also increase the exposure to WRMSD risk among shorthand typists; (c) effective preventive measures must consider the biomechanical elements, as well as the aspects of organization of the work and workers’ participation.

Objetivo: analisar a organização do trabalho no desenvolvimento das Lesões por Esforços Repetitivos/ Distúrbios Osteomusculares Relacionados ao Trabalho - LER/DORT, em taquígrafos de ambos os sexos, de duas Casas Parlamentares na região metropolitana de São Paulo. Método: estudo qualitativo; os instrumentos de coleta utilizados foram: entrevista individual, observação do trabalho e questionário de saúde e trabalho, composto de questões de identificação, estilo de vida, dados ocupacionais e de morbidade e o Questionário Nórdico de Sintomas Osteomusculares. Resultados: Identificaram-se fatores biomecânicos como prováveis causas de LER/DORT, tais como: manutenção de postura estática e movimentos repetitivos de digitação / manuseio de gravador; e aspectos da organização do trabalho, como por exemplo: divisão de tarefas por ciclos de tempo, pessoal reduzido, horários e pausas irregulares. Os taquígrafos relataram: exigências física, cognitiva, sensorial e psicológica do treinamento/ trabalho, pressão temporal, receio de errar, sobrecarga de trabalho nos períodos de pico e desgaste motivado pela disponibilidade integral de horários. Os trabalhadores identificaram como causas de LER/DORT: as dimensões temporal, ambiental, e da ação do trabalho, bem como aspectos individuais e condições fora do trabalho. Conclusões: (a) A taquigrafia parlamentar caracteriza-se pela fragmentação das tarefas, ritmo imposto e prazos rígidos, semelhante a uma linha de montagem; (b) aspectos da organização do trabalho podem influenciar a sobrecarga biomecânica e o aumento no tempo de exposição ao risco para LER/DORT entre taquígrafos; (c) para serem eficazes, medidas preventivas devem considerar os aspectos biomecânicos, bem como as características da organização do trabalho e a participação dos trabalhadores. / Objective: to analyze some of the relevant aspects of work organization in the development of Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders- WRMSD among male and female shorthand typists, in two parliamentary institutions in the metropolitan area of the city of São Paulo. Method: qualitative study; the instruments used to collect data have been: individual interview, observation of the work and questionnaire of health and work, composed of identification, occupational and morbidity questions and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Results: Biomechanical factors such as the maintenance of static posture and the repetitive movements of typing / handling the voice recorder have been identified as probable WRMSD causes; as well as some aspects of work organization, such as: task division in time cycles, reduced staff, irregular schedules and breaks. The shorthand typists have spoken about: physical, cognitive, sensorial and psychological requirements of training/work, time pressure, fear of making mistakes, work overload in rush periods and strain caused by the full-time availability schedule. The workers have come up with WRMSK causes: time, environmental and action dimensions of their work, as well as individual aspects and extra-work conditions. Conclusions: (a) The parliamentary shorthand typing work is characterized by divided tasks, rigid work rhythm and deadlines, like a factory assembly-line; (b) several elements of work organization may influence the biomechanical overload and it may also increase the exposure to WRMSD risk among shorthand typists; (c) effective preventive measures must consider the biomechanical elements, as well as the aspects of organization of the work and workers’ participation.

Les facteurs de risque de troubles musculo-squelettiques(TMS) tels que les facteurs physiques, organisationnels et psychosociaux sont un défi commun pour les industries de l'assemblage automobile qui entrainent des effets indésirables sur le système et les humains. L’ergonomie a déjà été intégrée dans les systèmes de production de ces industries pour la prise en charge de la prévention des TMS. La question est de savoir si l'approche ergonomique actuelle des industries automobiles, sur la base de normes à l'entreprise et des méthodes d'observation, peut fournir une connaissance partagée des facteurs ergonomiques pour les divers intervenants et pour faciliter l'amélioration des conditions de travail. Cette étude aborde la problématique du positionnement des différents méthodes d'évaluation (utilisées par les différents intervenants) et compare les résultats et apports de chaque méthode d'évaluation. Cette thèse propose que la procédure actuelle d'évaluation des risques de TMS ne favorise pas une connaissance partagée entre les intervenants dans les industries automobiles. On constate que les évaluations par auto-questionnaire (opérateurs) sont significativement différentes de celles issues des méthodes d'observation (ergonome) et des mesures directes (analyse biomécanique). Cependant, les opinions et jugements des opérateurs concernant les facteurs ergonomiques sont importants pour faciliter la réussite d'une approche ergonomique. Un entretien structuré et systématisé, basé sur des données objectives (Video-observations ou de mesure directe) liées aux activités et stratégies des opérateurs, pourrait être une procédure appropriée pour faire progresser l'ergonomie des situations de travail. Enfin, la connaissance tirée de cette thèse souligne que la variabilité des tâches dans l’industrie automobile nécessite une approche ergonomique qui partage les connaissances des risques entre les intervenants. Dans cette approche, les attitudes et les comportements des opérateurs sont pris en compte dans les projets d’amélioration continue. De plus, la participation des intervenants devrait être intégrée afin d'améliorer la prise en compte de l'ergonomie dans la production. Une synthèse de cette thèse en Français a été fournie dans l’annexe première. / Musculoskeletal risk factors such as physical, organizational and psychosocial factors are a common challenge for the automotive assembly industries and result in adverse human and system effects. Ergonomics has already been integrated inthe production systems of such factories to eliminate work related musculoskeletal disorders (WR-MSDs). The issue is whether the current ergonomic approach of car industries, based on corporate standards and observational methods, can provide a shared knowledge of ergonomic factors for various stakeholders and facilitate ergonomic improvement. This study focuses on the positioning of the different assessment methods (used by various stakeholders), agreement between their results in evaluation of physical risk factors and the influence of intervention and improvement following ergonomic assessment. This thesis proposes that the current procedure of risk factor assessment can not provide ashared knowledge and representation of risks between stakeholders in manufacturing industries. It was found that the operators’ assessments of risk factors (self-reported questionnaire) were significantly different from those assessed by observational methods (ergonomist) and direct measurement. However, the operators’ opinions and judgments of ergonomic factors of a job are of particular importance to the success of an ergonomic approach. A structured interview based on objective data (video-observation or direct measurement) linked the activities and strategies of atrisk operators might be an appropriate procedure to advance ergonomics.The knowledge gained from this study emphasizes that the variable nature of tasks in manufacturing industries needs an ergonomic approach which shares knowledge and representation of risks between stakeholders. In such an approach, attitudes and behaviors of operators are taken into consideration in developing new intervention processes, organizational and technical remedies. Moreover, involvement of stakeholders should be integrated and this should result in improving production ergonomics.

An ergonomically designed work environment may decrease work related musculoskeletal disorders, lead to less sick leaves and increase production time for operators and companies all around the world. Volvo Construction Equipment wants to deepen the knowledge and investigate more carefully how operators are actually sitting whilst operating the machines, how this affects placement of controls and furthermore optimize controls placements accordingly. The purpose is to enhance their product development process by suggesting guidelines for control placement with improved ergonomics based on operators’ sitting postures. The goal is to deliver a process which identifies and transfers sitting postures to RAMSIS and uses them for control placement recommendations in the cab and operator environments. Delimitations concerns: physical ergonomics, 80% usability of the resulted process on the machine types, and the level of detail for controls and their placements. Research, analysis, interviews, test driving of machines, video recordings of operators and the ergonomic software RAMSIS has served as base for analysis. The analysis led to (i) the conclusion that sitting postures affect optimal ergonomic placement of controls, though not ISO-standards, (ii) the conclusion that RAMSIS heavy truck postures does not seem to correspond to Volvo CE’s operators’ sitting postures and (iii) and to an advanced engineering project process suitable for all machine types and applicable in the product development process. The result can also be used for other machines than construction equipment. The resulted process consists of three independent sub-processes with step by step explanations and recommendations of; (i) what information that needs to be gathered, (ii) how to identify and transfer sitting postures into RAMSIS, (iii) how to use RAMSIS to create e design aid for recommended control placement. The thesis also contains additional enhancements to Volvo CE’s product development process with focus on ergonomics. A conclusion is that the use of motion capture could not be verified to work for Volvo Construction Equipment, though it was verified that if motion capture works, the process works. Another conclusion is that the suggested body landmarks not could be verified that they are all needed for this purpose except for those needed for control placement. Though they are based on previous sitting posture identification in vehicles and only those that also occur in RAMSIS are recommended, and therefore they can be used. This thesis also questions the most important parameters for interior vehicle design (hip- and eye locations) and suggests that shoulder locations are just as important. The thesis concluded five parameters for control categorization, and added seven categories in addition to those mentioned in the ISO-standards. Other contradictions and loopholes in the ISO-standards were identified, highlighted and discussed. Suggestions for improving the ergonomic analyses in RAMSIS can also be found in this report. More future research mentioned is more details on control placement as well as research regarding sitting postures are suggested. If the resulted process is delimited to concern upper body postures, other methods for posture identification may be used.