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Background. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a new tool—a scoring method for numerical assessment of manual tasks, making it possible to measure and evaluate both “new” tasks with high repetition and “old” manual work. It is aimed at surveillance and detection of occupational health risks causing occupational musculoskeletal disorders. Methods. A comprehensive and critical review of the literature was conducted prior to designing the tool, together with follow-up evaluations of our own studies. Results. The new tool includes an objective description of tasks, repetition, force and body posture. Demands of work are presented with scores, each in an individual scale that corresponds to the conditions encountered in practice. The classification of these scales and their final numerical quantification gives an indication of overload and of load bottlenecks. The total numerical score is obtained by multiplying the scale value for the daily duration by the sum of other scale values. The end result is a total score, with numerical value, describing the risk of physical overload. The numerical value is explained in an explanatory table, which contains four ranges of numerical values, also coloured in green, yellow, orange and red according to the risk level. The method used was the Scoring Method for Assessment of Repetitive Tasks (SMART). Discussion. The draft method was tested on 98 workers at 32 different workplaces with a comparative evaluation of the same workplaces using four additional existing assessment methods. The newly developed tool is easier to handle in the field, with fair correlation of results when assessing strains compared to results of other tested tools, providing easy numerical quantification of manual tasks with high repetition, occasional force exertion and awkward body postures together with their interaction. The draft is now in the process of being field tested and scientifically evaluated. |
