Risk assessment of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in construction: State-of-the-art review

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have long been a primary cause of non-fatal injuries in construction. They involve sudden or continuous stresses on a worker's musculoskeletal system (e.g., muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones) and may impair the ability of the worker to perform his or her job, or even cause permanent disability. Although assessing exposure to risk factors of WMSDs has proven to be feasible to alleviate the incidence rate of this injury, the field remains underdeveloped because of a lack of knowledge among construction professionals regarding the enabling techniques and their performance and limits. This paper reviews the available techniques for WMSD risk assessments, summarizes their benefits and limitations, and identifies areas in which further studies are still needed. Current techniques are categorized into self-report, observation, direct measurement, and remote sensing assessment. Particular interests are revealed in the wearable-sensor and vision-based techniques within the construction community. This review helps the industry to better understand the severity of WMSDs and the related risks in construction. This review also provides the construction research community with a holistic view on available techniques, their limitations, and the need for research in achieving automatic assessments on construction sites.