Effectiveness of Three Ergonomic Risk Assessment Tools, Namely NERPA, RULA, and REBA, for Screening Musculoskeletal Disorders

Abstract

Background & Aims of the Study: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are among the most common types of occupational diseases and damages, especially in repair and maintenance occupations. There are various methods for the prediction of the risk factors affecting the prevalence of WRMSDs. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of three ergonomic risk assessment tools, namely the Novel Ergonomic Postural Assessment (NERPA), Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), for screening the musculoskeletal disorders in the employees of repair and maintenance occupation in a power plant equipment industry in Alborz province, Iran, in 2017. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on all employees in the repair and maintenance department of a power plant equipment industry, including 295 subjects in six occupational groups. The General Nordic Questionnaire was used to determine the levels of musculoskeletal disorders. The REBA, RULA, and NERPA methods were employed in order to predict the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders. Finally, the data related to the real values of musculoskeletal disorders and risk values predicted by the three mentioned methods were analyzed through Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and kappa agreement coefficient at the significance level of 0.05 using SPSS software (version 25). Results: Mean age of the participants was reported as 37.52±3.61 years. Correlation values between the levels of musculoskeletal disorders and risk levels predicted in the RULA, NERPA, and REBA were observed to be 0.764, 0.723, and 0.689, respectively (P<0.05). Correlation coefficient values of the risk levels predicted in the RULA method with NERPA and REBA were 0.767 and 0.620, respectively (P<0.05). Conclusion: Based on comparing the correlation level of prevalence rates of musculoskeletal disorders with predicted risk levels in the three studied methods, the results indicated that the best method for predicting the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in different examined tasks was the RULA method. However, none of the methods had adequate comprehensiveness for the assessment of all four risk levels.

Effectiveness of a theory-based educational intervention on work-related musculoskeletal disorders preventive behaviors among assembly-line female workers: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…One of the appropriate methods for predicting the risk of WMSDs in various tasks is the rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) [ 18 ]. The traditional scoring system of RULA has low sensitivity to input variables, and it is difficult to show the effectiveness of ergonomic interventions in it, while a single value in RULA can belong to several sets with different degrees [ 19 ].…”

Work posture risk comparison of RULA and REBA based on measures of assessment-score variability: A case study of the metal coating industry in Thailand

“…In the context of evaluating the efficacy of ergonomic risk assessment through mean risk scores, the outcomes align ed with findings from studies by Cremasco, et al [28]; Yarandi, et al [29] and Kee, et al [30]. These studies suggested that the RULA method was capable of expeditiously identifying work-related risk assessments compared to the REBA metho d , facilitating the prompt implementation of solutions and the prevention of potential hazards arising from occupational activities.…”

“…Cremasco, et al [28] evaluated the postures of operators manually feeding a wood chipper in the forestry sector and compared the effectiveness of the RULA and REBA methods in assessing the risk of biomechanical postural strain. The findings revealed upper limb postural issues, highlighting RULA as a more preventive measure to safeguard the operator's health during the specified tasks.Yarandi, et al [29] evaluated three ergonomic risk assessment tools (the Novel Ergonomic Postural Assessment (NERPA), RULA, and REBA) for screening musculoskeletal disorders among employees in a power plant equipment industry in Iran. Involving 295 participants from six occupational groups, the research identified RULA a s the most effective method for predicting the risk of musculoskeletal disorders across diverse tasks, based on correlations between prevalence rates and predicted risk levels.In their study, Kee, et al [30] investigated maximum holding times (MHTs) across various body postures using three methods: OWAS, RULA, and REBA.…”

Development of a novel Electrical Industry Safety Risk Index (EISRI) in the electricity power distribution industry based on fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP)

“…At the end of this phase, after holding two sessions with panel members and using the information extracted from previous studies, the jobs in electricity distribution companies were divided into ten groups according to the nature of the job, stages of work, and similarity of risks, as described in Table 2 . After job grouping, the hierarchical task analysis (HTA) and tabular task analysis (TTA) methods was used for the job analysis [ 20 , 22 ]. In order to use the participatory approach and also to identify all existing tasks and sub-tasks, after three training course, tabular task analysis (TTA) was also completed by the workers of the studied industry.…”

“…Several tools and techniques have been applied to identify and evaluate the risks of the electricity industry that have not been developed specifically for the electricity industry Studies have illustrated that research on safety risk assessment in electricity distribution and transmission was commonly performed based on human error and unsafe actions [ 22 ].…”