Maintenance-of-way workers in North America who construct railroad tracks utilize
specialized powered-hand tools, which lead to hand-transmitted vibration exposure. In this
study, the maintenance-of-way workers were surveyed about neuro-musculoskeletal disorders,
powered-hand tools and work practices. Information about vibration emission data of trade
specific powered-hand tools for the North American and European Union markets was searched
online to obtain respective user information of manufacturer and compared to
non-commercial international data banks. The survey showed that maintenance-of-way workers
frequently reported typical hand-transmitted vibration-related symptoms, and appear to be
at a risk for neuro-musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity. Of all of the
powered-hand tools used by this trade, 88% of the selected tools exceeded a=5
m/s
2
and were above vibration magnitudes of common tools of other comparable
industries. This may create a risk if these tools are used throughout an 8-h work day and
management of vibration exposure may be needed. In the North-American market, limited or
no vibration emission data is available from manufacturers or distributors. Vibration
emission information for powered-hand tools, including vibration emission levels (in
m/s
2
), uncertainty factor K, and the applied testing standard/norm may assist
employers, users and occupational health providers to better assess, compare and manage
risk.