Evaluation of agreement among ergonomics survey tools for the distal upper extremities

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are a recognized problem in the workforce, particularly in manufacturing industries. The field of ergonomics refers to a number of "ergonomic analysis tools" to estimate the risk of performing a job. Currently there is little agreement on which tool is the best to use in a given situation. Consequently, ergonomists often use a number of tools in combination to give a broader picture of the job risk. This research is primary aimed at studying the degree to which outputs of different tools agree. Five commonly used analysis tools that evaluate the risk to the upper extremities were studied: Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), Rodgers Muscle Fatigue Analysis, ACGIH Hand Activity Level TLV, and the Strain Index. Absolute agreement, which is defined as both tools assigning the same category of risk to a given job, ranged from 0.100 to 0.617. RULA and REBA were expected to have the highest degree of agreement. The two analysis tools that exhibited the highest degree of absolute agreement (0.617), were the ACGIH Hand Activity Level TLV and the Strain Index. This research will assist ergonomists in selecting tools and interpreting the risk presented by jobs when time and resources do not allow the application of multiple ergonomic assessment methods.