Affiliations: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Marc Gentzler, 10824 Glen Cove
Circle Apt 301, Orlando, FL 32817, USA. Tel.: +1 407 679 3260; E-mail: mgentzler@knights.ucf.edu
Abstract: Objective: These ergonomic evaluations analyze the threat of
musculoskeletal injuries primarily due to awkward and extreme postures across
two post-fire tasks and a patient care task. Participants: The participants were firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in an
urban U.S. fire department. Methods: Ergonomic tools used for the
evaluation included the National Institute of Occupational Safety Health
(NIOSH) lifting equation, Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), Rapid Upper Limb
Assessment (RULA), and anthropometric measurements of equipment and persons. Results: High to very high risks were found for lifting the hose above
the shoulder to drain it of excess water and for rolling the hoses on the
ground. Extreme risk was found for lifting the hose from chest height to above
the shoulders during hose drainage. High risk was found for EMT patient care
tasks that require reaching for overhead equipment or seated tasks that require
horizontal bending and twisting. Conclusions: The risk was high enough
for these tasks to warrant modification and changes. The recommendations given
included creating new mechanical and technical devices, modifying existing
devises, and making workers aware of associated risks to reduce the threat of injury.
Keywords: Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), Rapid Upper Body Assessment (RULA), Manual Material Handling (MMH), National Institute of Occupational Safety Health (NIOSH)
