Preventive action with a population of excavator drivers exposed to whole-body vibration.

BACKGROUND

Whole-body vibration is a major cause of lower back pain among employees, and the medical and preventive care teams of occupational health departments are often confronted with lower back pain problems among machine operators.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this research are to determine the number of excavator drivers exposed to whole-body vibration levels above 0.5m/s2, identify other exposure factors that may contribute to back pain, and propose corrective measures.

METHODS

Vibration measurements were carried out on individual excavator drivers while they were observed carrying out working tasks, after which prevention advice is given. Factors which determine vibration levels are logged on to a database.

RESULTS

The multivariate analysis of several determining factors shows vibration exposure levels vary depending on the varied work tasks being carried out.

CONCLUSION

This study identifies exposed employees among excavator operators. For each workstation, the determining factors that could explain the high exposures to vibrations are identified. This work shows the important role of tasks on exposure levels. A better adaptation of the tools used to carry out work tasks would allow a decrease in the vibration level of this type of machine.