The Suitability for the Work‐Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Checklist Assessment in the Semiconductor Industry: A Case Study

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders and symptoms are common among workers in the semiconductor and related industries. Ergonomic‐related checklists are used to identify musculoskeletal disorder risk factors in the workplace. This study explores the suitability of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) checklist for use in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Six companies were enrolled in the current study, and 122 subjects, ranging in age from 21 to 54 years old, were evaluated through a questionnaire survey and field observation using the OSHA MSDs checklist. The observers were administered an ergonomics‐based checklist training course with a duration of 36 hours. Experimental results demonstrated that nearly 50% of subjects reported physical discomfort, with shoulder symptoms (38.5%) being the most common complaint. In addition, the aggregated sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive values for the MSDs checklist in the six companies were 47.3%, 62.4%, and 30.0%, respectively. This study concluded that the OSHA MSDs checklist appeared to contain better estimates for capturing musculoskeletal discomfort and found that the OSHA MSDs checklist provided an easily administered, proactive surveillance instrument to assist in early identification of musculoskeletal discomfort. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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