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BACKGROUND: The aging of the workforce is changing, but working conditions have not changed at the same exponential growth rate for senior workers. Such a situation can compromise the worker’s physical and cognitive capability, reducing the ability to perform work activities. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to understand the main functional capacity changes in senior workers in the automotive industry and to determine the contribution of working conditions on the decline of the functional capacity in senior workers. METHODS: To achieve the objectives of the study, a set of questionnaires (Sociodemographic Data, COPSOQ, Nordic Questionnaire, and Par-Q) and a battery of 4 functional capacity tests were used. Results: Work conditions, namely awkward postures, force demands and manual material handling, and age, were statistically associated to the functional decline in workers. Additionally, multiple linear regression showed that height, weight, seniority, and strength have predictive value to the handgrip decline (both positions HG2 and HG5). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that workers’ handgrip assessment should be considered as a future measure as an indicator of strength ability in the occupational field.

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s) Job rotation is a work organization strategy with increasing popularity, given its benefits for workers and companies, especially those working with manufacturing. This study proposes a formulation to help the team leader in an assembly line of the automotive industry to achieve job rotation schedules based on three major criteria: improve diversity, ensure homogeneity, and thus reduce exposure level. The formulation relied on a genetic algorithm, that took into consideration the biomechanical risk factors (EAWS), workers’ qualifications, and the organizational aspects of the assembly line. Moreover, the job rotation plan formulated by the genetic algorithm formulation was compared with the solution provided by the team leader in a real life-environment. The formulation proved to be a reliable solution to design job rotation plans for increasing diversity, decreasing exposure, and balancing homogeneity within workers, achieving better results in all of the outcomes when compared with the job rotation schedules created by the team leader. Additionally, this solution was less time-consuming for the team leader than a manual implementation. This study provides a much-needed solution to the job rotation issue in the manufacturing industry, with the genetic algorithm taking less time and showing better results than the job rotations created by the team leaders. publishersversion published

To determine the short-term associations between biomechanical risk factors and musculoskeletal symptoms in the upper limbs and low back in an automotive company, a longitudinal study with a follow-up of 4 days was conducted in a sample of 228 workers of the assembly and paint areas. Data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations, calculating the crude and adjusted model for age, sex, seniority, and intensity of pain at baseline. The interactions found were the same for both models. Workers were divided in low-risk and high-risk group for posture, force, exposure, percentage of cycle time with the arm at/above shoulder level, and with the trunk flexed or/and strongly flexed. The predictive factors showed by time × group effect were found between pain intensity on the left shoulder for posture (β = 0.221, p < 0.001), percentage of time with the trunk flexed (β = 0.136, p = 0.030) and overall exposure (β = 0.140, p = 0.013). A time × group interactions were observed, namely between neck pain and posture (β = 0.218, p = 0.005) and right wrist and force (β = 0.107, p = 0.044). Workers in the high-risk group were more prone to report unfavorable effects on their self-reported musculoskeletal pain, across a workweek when exposed to specific risk factor, being posture important to neck, right wrist and left shoulder pain.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRD) have a high prevalence among office workers, which is even worsen with the current shift to home working office. Tools to assess their work setup in order to create awareness and reduce ergonomic risks are in need. There are tools available that allow ergonomic risk assessment to be carried out in a quantitative and qualitative way. However, quantitative tools require specialists’ collaboration, while qualitative tools do not provide a quantification of risk and do not consider other variables, such as social and psychosocial factors. In this sense, we introduce the concept of a self-assessment tool, named microErgo, that calculates the risk of developing pain or WRD based on ergonomic exposure for its prevention and promoting self-awareness. This tool’s construction requires an understanding and determination of the risk factors present in the office scenario. The risk associated with each factor must be considered and modeled by additional variables, such as individual characteristics or psychosocial. The final ergonomic risk is calculated by combining all sources of risk and transcribing it into a microErgo scale. microErgo is a concept to build an easy-to-use tool that combines existing ergonomic models with statistical data to calculate the risk of developing pain or WRD based on completing a self-assessment questionnaire and provide recommendations based on the risks identified.