Inter-rater reliability of output measures for a posture matching assessment approach: a pilot study with food service workers

• Published in: Ergonomics Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 556 - 572
• Main Authors: Cann, A. P., Connolly, M., Ruuska, R., MacNeil, M., Birmingham, T. B., Vandervoort, A. A., Callaghan, J. P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis 01.04.2008; Washington, DC Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological; Adult; Applied physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Correlation analysis; Correlation coefficient; cumulative loading; Cumulative Trauma Disorders - etiology; Cumulative Trauma Disorders - prevention & control; ergonomic evaluation; Ergonomics; Ergonomics. Work place. Occupational physiology; Female; Food; Food Handling; Food service; Food service industry; Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; Musculoskeletal Diseases - etiology; Musculoskeletal Diseases - prevention & control; Pilot Projects; Posture; Posture - physiology; posture matching; Reliability; Repetitive stress injury; Reproducibility of Results; Research Design; Risk Factors; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Workers; Human; posture matching; Three dimensional space; cumulative loading; Video recording; Workload; Posture; ergonomic evaluation; Ergonomics; Food industry; Worker; Measurement method; Reliability; Repetition
• ISSN: 0014-0139; 1366-5847
• DOI: 10.1080/00140130701711455

Despite the ongoing health problem of repetitive strain injuries, there are few tools currently available for ergonomic applications evaluating cumulative loading that have well-documented evidence of reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to determine the inter-rater reliability of a posture matching based analysis tool (3DMatch, University of Waterloo) for predicting cumulative and peak spinal loads. A total of 30 food service workers were each videotaped for a 1-h period while performing typical work activities and a single work task was randomly selected from each for analysis by two raters. Inter-rater reliability was determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) model 2,1 and standard errors of measurement for cumulative and peak spinal and shoulder loading variables across all subjects. Overall, 85.5% of variables had moderate to excellent inter-rater reliability, with ICCs ranging from 0.30-0.99 for all cumulative and peak loading variables. 3DMatch was found to be a reliable ergonomic tool when more than one rater is involved.