Effects of construction worker's experience, the presence of safety handrail and height of movable scaffold on postural and spinal stability

In this study, posture and spinal stability were evaluated during a manual task in a standing posture on a movable scaffold at two levels of heights, with and without safety handrails between experts and novice construction workers using insole pressure transducers and muscle activities of trunk muscles. Eight construction workers (4 experts and 4 novices) working at a construction site participated in the experiment for ergonomic assessment. A significant difference was found in postural stability, spinal stability with regard to career (p<;0.01), floor (p<;0.01), and presence of a safety handrail (p<;0.01), based on Manova and Anova analyses. It was also found that the standard deviation of COP (Center of Pressure), and back muscle activities increased, when career is lower, scaffold height is higher, and the safety handrail is not installed. The experiment results suggest that the risk of a fall incident and back pain may increase at lower worker's experience (career), higher moveable scaffolding frame, and without safety handrail.