FACTORS INFLUENCING ERGONOMIC INTERVENTION IN CONSTRUCTION: TRUNKMAN CASE STUDY

This case study examines factors affecting the use of equipment designed to prevent lower back strain in laborers who pour concrete on major highway construction sites. Qualitative methods of organizational analysis were used to characterize factors identified from interviews and participant observation. The major obstacles to the use of the control on site were 1. Managers placing a low priority on ergonomics 2. Safety officers' limited power in organizational hierarchies 3. Rationalizing, rather than challenging, resistance to change 4. Lack of a forum to share knowledge about interventions Several organizational factors impeded the adoption of a technically effective, low-cost safety control on the site studied. The implementation of the control ultimately resulted from actions taken by the investigators, suggesting that safety programs present at the site are not always adequate to realize feasible interventions.