To Rotate or Not to Rotate – How Does Job Rotation Impact Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk?

Abstract: To address work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs; e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome), some companies utilize job rotation, systematically rotating workers through different jobs within a workday. Prior research suggests that while job rotation may decrease WMSD risk for some workers, other workers may see their risk increase. There is a lack of evidence from actual worksites that utilize job rotation on the impact on WMSD risk for all workers involved in job rotation. The objective was to compare WMSD risk for job rotation schemes to jobs not involved in job rotation. Workers from U.S. manufacturing companies involved in rotation schemes with four jobs (N=42) that rotate within a workday were evaluated for WMSD risk factors for the hand/wrist, shoulder and low back at each job. WMSD risk was determined for each worker and each rotation scheme utilizing validated fatigue failure tools (DUET for hand/wrist, LiFFT for low back, The Shoulder Tool (TST) for shoulders) and estimated WMSD risk for each job in the rotation scheme assuming the job was performed for the whole workday (not involved in rotation). Job rotation resulted in increases in DUET risk probabilities of approximately 10% compared to not rotating for the right (p<0.0002) and left (p<0.0002) hand/wrist, and an approximate 6% increase in LiFFT and TST risk probabilities compared to not rotating (LiFFT: p<0.0002; right shoulder: p=0.0004; left shoulder: p=0.0028). Job rotation also resulted in 3 or 4 of the jobs in rotation schemes increasing in risk for 67% of the schemes for DUET, 43% of the schemes for LiFFT, and approximately 50% of the schemes for TST. The results demonstrated job rotation resulted in modest (6% to 10%) but significant increases in WMSD risk across multiple body regions compared to working in jobs that don’t rotate. Additionally, rotating workers through four-job rotation schemes resulted in the majority of jobs in these schemes increasing upper extremity risk compared to not rotating. The decision to rotate or not may in part depend on the WMSD risk levels for jobs being considered for inclusion in the rotation schemes. Inclusion of jobs that have elevated risk (e.g., moderate or high risk) may decrease the risk for those workers who otherwise would work the full workday in those jobs, but will likely increase the risk to workers in jobs that have lower risk.

Keywords: ergonomics, job rotation, musculoskeletal disorders

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007051

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