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Case Studies
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Body Zone Map
Jobs may be assessed in terms of 'high/medium/low/no risk' for different body zones. For example, a job could be assessed as presenting a 'high risk' (coded red) to the dominant hand/wrist and a 'medium risk' (coded amber) to the low back. If all jobs are assessed in this way then the following benefits could arise.
Benefits for engineers:
- Engineers could identify those jobs with the highest residual risk in order
to prioritise ergonomic improvements.
- Engineers considering such improvements should be able to look at the
scoring criteria to predict the magnitude of any risk reduction that would
result from alternative improvements. For example, a limited budget may reduce
the score to 'low/no risk'. This limited budget could perhaps be better spent on
reducing other jobs from 'red' to 'amber'. This approach could therefore assist
engineers developing cost-effective risk reduction strategies.
Benefits for managers:
- Managers could use the information to redeploy individuals with specific
problems. For example, an employee reporting discomfort in the right elbow could
be considered for redeployment in any job showing a 'low/no risk' in that upper
limb.
Benefits for occupational health:
- Occupational health functions could use the information to help consider the
likely impact of a person's job on a specific condition. For example, a job with
a 'high - red risk' for the dominant hand should be considered highly relevant
to somebody presenting with symptoms in that hand.
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Overview of the approach
The Body Zone assessments adopt three categories of musculoskeletal risk (green, amber and red) for each of the
following body zones:
- Neck
- Shoulders
- Elbows
- Wrists/Hands/Fingers
- Upper Back
- Low Back
- Buttocks/Hips
- Legs (Thighs & Calves)
- Knees
- Ankles/Feet
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Risk Definitions
| Green | No foreseeability of work causing injury or significant discomfort. This work should be suitable for all staff.
- No actions are necessary to improve the workstations/jobs
- Any member of staff showing reoccurrence of musculoskeletal problems when solely employed on such jobs should be referred to the occupational health physicians for diagnosis and advice on the short term/long term suitability of such work.
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| Amber | A potential risk of work aggravating an existing condition or causing problems for some staff who may be particularly prone to musculoskeletal problems for that body zone. Many industrial operations will have such risks with low incidents of this work creating any difficulties- Consideration could be given to seek ways of improving the jobs
- Any individual member of staff showing reoccurrence of musculoskeletal problems in these body zones should be referred to the occupational health physicians for diagnosis and advice on the short term/long term suitability of such work
- Should several members of staff employed on such jobs report musculoskeletal symptoms, the job should be reviewed to establish whether any factors have changed that could increase such risk. Actions should be taken to reduce such risks to as low as is reasonably practicable.
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| Red | Aspects of the tasks contain postures/forces/repetitions that have been associated with an increased prevalence of symptoms and possible injury. There is a therefore a foreseeable risk of this work creating significant discomfort and possible long-term injury for some staff. It is probable that any actual risk will be very much reduced if those parts showing 'red' constitute a small part of the whole job
- These risks should be considered as unacceptable in the long-term and actions taken to reduce these risks to as low as is reasonably practicable
- An individual member of staff showing reoccurrence of musculoskeletal problems in these body zones should be immediately taken off work showing 'red' in the body region affected and referred to the occupational health physicians for diagnosis and advice on the short term/long term suitability of this work
Any members of staff deployed to such work without regular rotation to jobs with clear/amber equivalent body zones should be initially monitored by the occupational health physicians and thereafter monitored in accordance with medical advice
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| Chevron | Some zones have been coded with amber or red chevrons. These show the potential risk ONLY if a certain technique is adopted -and where there should be no foreseeable risk if the stated alternative technique is adopted. |
Scoring Criteria
Detailed criteria on risk factors has been obtained from the literature and collated for each of the body zones. An extract for that applied to the elbow is shown below:
| Elbows | General & Epicondylitis | Amber Risk Factors for Elbow Disorders- Medium repetition & Force Extension
- Medium repetition & Ulnar or Radial & Forearm Rotation
- Medium repetition of Pinch Grip
- Medium repetition & Flexible & Forearm Rotation
- Moderate Grasping/Pushing Forces - Awkward/Extended arm position
Red Risk Factors for Elbow Disorders- High repetition & force & extension
- High repetition & Ulnar or Radial & Forearm Rotation
- High repetition/prolonged use of Pinch Grip
- High repetition of Flexion & Forearm Rotation
- High Grasping/Pushing Forces - Awkward/Extended arm position
- Overuse of finger extensor muscles
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Such criteria are incorporated into simple task analysis procedure to enable an overall score to be determined against each body zone. Additional criteria are used to determine the combined body risk zones for multiple tasks - such as when job rotation is applied. Where suitable jobs are being rotated, the overall work risks for a body zone may reduce from 'red' to 'amber' or from 'amber' to 'green'.
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