Analysis of Relationships between Body Load and Training, Work Methods, and Work Rate: Overcoming the Novice Mason’s Risk Hump
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 146, Issue 8
Abstract
Masons regularly perform physically strenuous and demanding duties that may exceed a safe limit. Such activities can contribute to an early retirement for masons, resulting in a shortage of skilled craft workers. Previous ergonomic studies have observed that workers develop safer and more productive work techniques as they gain experience. This study aims to analyze relationships between body loads, experience, and work methods. Specifically, we expanded a previous pilot study by increasing the number of participants from 21 masons to 66 masons. Participants completed a prebuilt standard concrete masonry unit (CMU) lead wall using 45 CMUs. Motion capture suits were used to capture masons’ motions, and a combined biomechanical-productivity analysis was carried out to determine the loads experienced by major body joints. Exploiting the larger dataset, this study assessed how different experience groups load their joints and adjust their work techniques as the work height changes. The results suggested that experienced journeymen adopt similar work techniques distinct from those of less experienced workers. Further, training apprentices to adopt these work methods can help reduce occupational injuries and improve productivity. The results show that the journeymen with more than 20 years of experience adopt safer and more productive work techniques distinct from those of less experienced workers. The present study contributes to the body of knowledge on masons’ safety and productivity by providing an in-depth understanding of the linkage between body loads, work experience, techniques, and productivity. Additionally, the findings in this study are expected to have a greater impact when they are adopted to apprentice-training methods and applied to other high musculoskeletal-disorders-risk trades.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank and acknowledge the Ontario Masonry Training Centre at Conestoga College in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and the Canada Masonry Design Centre (CMDC) in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, for their considerable help in the data collection effort. The work presented in this paper was supported financially by CMDC and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (CRDPJ 494786-16).
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Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 146 • Issue 8 • August 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 20, 2019
Accepted: Mar 17, 2020
Published online: Jun 12, 2020
Published in print: Aug 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Nov 12, 2020
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