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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational and personal (individual) factors with the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in office workers of the Iranian Gas Transmission Company. The participants rated two questionnaires - the standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire to measure the prevalence of MSDs, and the Veterans Healthcare Administration All Employee Survey questionnaire (2004 version) - to measure psychosocial, organizational and individual aspects of job satisfaction and workplace climate. The highest prevalence of MSDs was found in the lower back (49.7%) and neck (49.0%) regions. Results of the logistic regression models showed that some psychosocial and organizational factors and also some individual factors were associated with prevalence of MSDs (p < 0.05).These findings illustrate the need to consider all elements of the work system as a whole in future studies and in organizational planning.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged, awkward postures among assembly line workers can lead to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). OBJECTIVE: This study determined the prevalence of WMSDs and ergonomic risk factors among assembly line workers at an electronic parts manufacturer, and introduced a low-cost ergonomic intervention. METHODS: Data were gathered by means of a questionnaire. The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) technique was used to determine ergonomic risk factors. A low-cost intervention, designed to improve working postures was introduced. RESULTS: Most musculoskeletal symptoms were associated with the lower back (73.6%), wrist/ hands (71.7%), and neck (67.9%). Most (80%) of the working postures analyzed using the RULA were at action levels 3 or 4. CONCLUSIONS:The ergonomic intervention resulted in a significant reduction in posture scores for the neck and trunk. This indicated that the intervention helped to improve workplace ergonomics.

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Manual material handling (MMH) tasks can be found in most workplaces and they may constitute a risk factor for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs