ArticleApplied ergonomics2020
The effectiveness of ergonomic interventions in material handling operations.
Article in Applied ergonomics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence and demographic risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in construction workers.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- The Knowledge-to-Practice Gap in Safe Lifting and Biomechanical Risks as Determinants of Musculoskeletal Disorders in Manual Material Handling.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Review of Powered, Safe Patient-Handling Equipment for Emergency Medical Services via an Insurance Safety Intervention Grant Program.Prehospital and disaster medicine · 2025Article
- Active back exosuits demonstrate positive usability perceptions that drive intention-to-use in the field among logistic warehouse workers.Applied ergonomics · 2025Article
- A Rapid Review on the Effectiveness and Use of Wearable Biofeedback Motion Capture Systems in Ergonomics to Mitigate Adverse Postures and Movements of the Upper Body.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Physical Ergonomic Assessment in Cleaning Hospital Operating Rooms Based on Inertial Measurement Units.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- How Accurately Can Wearable Sensors Assess Low Back Disorder Risks during Material Handling? Exploring the Fundamental Capabilities and Limitations of Different Sensor Signals.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Case Studies of Robots and Automation as Health/Safety Interventions in Small Manufacturing Enterprises.Human factors and ergonomics in manufacturing · 2022Article
- Workers' compensation claim counts and rates by injury event/exposure among state-insured private employers in Ohio, 2007-2017.Journal of safety research · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
This study evaluated the effectiveness of ergonomic interventions in material handling operations involving 33 employers and 535 employees from 2012 to 2017. Outcomes included employee-reported low back/upper extremity pain and safety incidents at baseline, every three months, and annually for up to two years. A total of 32.5% of employees completed at least one survey, while 13.6% completed all nine surveys over two years. Among highly exposed employees (who reported handling >= 50 lbs. > 33% of the time), upper extremity pain frequency and severity were lower among those who reported using the intervention routinely versus those that reported using their body strength alone to handle objects >= 50 lbs. After excluding from analyses one employer that used anti-fatigue mats, low back pain frequency was also significantly lower among highly exposed intervention users. In conclusion, there was some evidence that the interventions were effective in reducing employee-reported pain for highly exposed employees.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.