Employers and their employees are often able to identify conditions that may
contribute to MSDs, because they understand the physical demands of the jobs and work
activities in their workplaces. In addition to reviewing work-related injuries and
illness records or assessing the physical demands of jobs or work tasks, employers can also determine
whether these condition exist by talking with employees. Some employers have chosen to conduct baseline screening surveys, sometimes referred to as symptom surveys. These
surveys typically ask employees to identify those parts of the body that hurt while performing work and to
characterize or rate the severity of the discomfort. Even in the absence of an OSHA recordable case on an OSHA 300
Log, the results of such surveys may be used to determine whether employees are experiencing discomfort while performing
their work activities and the possible sources of the discomfort.
-
Ergonomics Program Management Guidelines For Meatpacking Plants.
OSHA Publication 3123, (1993).
Includes a symptom survey on pages 16 and 17.
- Management of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders. Accredited Standards Committee Z365 Working Draft,
(2002, August), 92 KB PDF,
16 pages. Section 4.2.3 addresses employee participation in the
management of MSDs.
- Participatory Ergonomic Interventions in Meatpacking Plants. National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-124,
(1994). Includes a section entitled "Rational for
Worker Participation" which discusses the importance of employee input
in dealing with ergonomics risks.
*These files are provided for downloading only.
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for assistance accessing PDF materials.
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