Affiliations: Ergonomics Laboratory, School of Engineering of the
University of Minho, Guimaraes, Portugal
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Pedro M. Arezes, Ergonomics
Laboratory, School of Engineering of the University of Minho, 4800-058
Guimaraes, Portugal. Tel.: +351 253 510 354; Fax: +351 253 510 343; E-mail:
parezes@dps.uminho.pt
Abstract: Objective: There are several methodologies to assess the risk
involved in Manual Materials Handling (MMH). The aim of this study was to
identify the knowledge and use of risk assessment methods among Portuguese
Health and Safety (H&S) practitioners. Participants: The study involved the participation of 331 H&S practitioners and other related
prevention professionals. Method: An e-mail invitation to complete an
online survey was sent to all Portuguese registered H&S practitioners.
The previously developed and validated questionnaire included three different
sections: (1) company characteristics; (2) description of types of MMH tasks
performed; and (3) the respondents' use of and knowledge about risk assessment
methods for MMH tasks. Results: The answers obtained were collected from
almost 350 companies. The characteristics of the companies showed that there is
a predominance of external and internal H&S services for Small and
Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) and large companies, respectively. The NIOSH
equation, Key Indicator Method (KIM) and Manual Assessment Chart (MAC) were
identified as the most used and recognised risk assessment methods. Conclusion: Questionnaire results show that an important number of Portuguese
H&S practitioners recognise some methods but have difficulty applying
them correctly. Some practitioners reported that they had never used any type
of risk assessment method.
