Research Institute Director Y. Ian Noy, Ph.D., C.P.E., 2013 Medal winner Professor Sean Gallagher, Ph.D., CPE, and Andrew S. Imada, Ph.D. CPE, IEA past president and awards committee chair.
October 03, 2013
HOPKINTON, MA – Researchers Sean Gallagher, Ph.D., CPE and John R. Heberger, M.A., M.S. were recently awarded the 2013 International Ergonomics Association (IEA)/ Liberty Mutual Medal in Occupational Safety and Ergonomics. The researchers received the honor for their scientific paper “Examining the interaction of force and repetition on musculoskeletal disorder risk: A systematic literature review” (Human Factors, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 108-124, 2013). Dr. Gallagher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Auburn University, Auburn, AL, and Mr. Heberger is an epidemiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Pittsburgh, PA. The Medal was presented at the International Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society in San Diego, CA on October 1, 2013.
The most prestigious award of its kind in the field of occupational ergonomics and safety, the IEA/Liberty Mutual Medal is awarded to the author of an original scientific paper that meets criteria for innovation and impact. Presented annually, the award recognizes outstanding original research leading to the reduction of work-related injuries and/or to the advancement of theory, understanding, and development of occupational safety research. An international review committee, established by the IEA, selects the winning contribution from among the applicants worldwide. The Medal carries a stipend of $10,000.
The winning paper describes a consistent pattern of interaction between the musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk factors of force and repetition and provides a likely theoretical basis for this relationship. For the investigation, the researchers conducted a systematic review of epidemiology studies that tested for a force-repetition interaction. These studies indicated that repetition had a vastly different impact on MSD risk depending on the amount of force involved. Typically, increased repetition rates led to a modest increase in risk for low force tasks, while high force tasks greatly magnified the effect of repetition rate.
The authors note that the pattern of risk observed in the epidemiology studies strongly suggests an underlying fatigue failure process in the affected tissues. Fatigue failure begins when a sufficient force is imposed to create a small area of damage in the exposed tissue. If the tissue continues to experience forceful loading, the weakened area of the tissue will start to expand. This paper details how the rate of expansion is a function of the specific combination of the force applied and number of repetitions experienced.
One of the benefits of using the fatigue failure model is that improved methods of assessing the effects of cumulative loading on MSD risk may be possible. “A common method currently used to calculate cumulative loading is to simply multiply forces experienced by the number of repetitions in an un-weighted fashion,” says Dr. Gallagher. “However, fatigue failure theory suggests that high force tasks need to be weighted much more heavily than low force tasks in determining cumulative MSD risk.” The theory also provides a method of assessing the effects of the highly variable loading patterns and task frequencies that are common in occupational settings.
Gallagher and Heberger also suggest in the paper that a third MSD risk factor, non-neutral postures, may be explained, at least in part, by the fatigue failure paradigm. “One of the main characteristics of non-neutral postures is that they increase the forces imposed on musculoskeletal tissues,” says Gallagher. “According to fatigue failure theory, these increased forces would lead to more rapid MSD development and this could be one reason why posture emerges as an MSD risk factor.”
"This winning paper demonstrates how scientific research contributes to understanding and preventing injuries,” says Andrew S. Imada, Ph.D., IEA past president and awards committee chair. “Rather than looking at known risk factors for MSDs independently, the authors identified more complex relationships between force and repetition that are more representative of work in the real world. This illustrates how science can be translated into ergonomics practice."
“We are deeply honored to be the recipients of this prestigious award,” says Gallagher. “We would like to express our appreciation to both Liberty Mutual and the IEA for their leadership and long-standing commitment to the field of ergonomics.”
About Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety
Owned and operated by Liberty Mutual Insurance, the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety has helped to improve the occupational safety and health of millions of workers for nearly 60 years. Through laboratory and field-based investigations, the Research Institute seeks to advance scientific, business-relevant knowledge in workplace and highway safety and work disability. Research findings are shared with the worldwide health and safety community, and are ultimately used to develop recommendations, guidelines, and interventions that help reduce risk and control costs.
About Liberty Mutual Insurance
"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on A.M. Best Company's report of 2010 net written premium. Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 82nd on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2010 revenue. As of December 31, 2011, Liberty Mutual Insurance had $117.1 billion in consolidated assets, $99.3 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $34.7 billion in annual consolidated revenue.
Liberty Mutual Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, property, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, reinsurance and surety. Liberty Mutual Insurance employs over 45,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.
About International Ergonomics Association
The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) is the federation of ergonomics and human factors societies from around the world. The mission of the IEA is to elaborate and advance ergonomics science and practice, and to improve the quality of life by expanding its scope of application and contribution to society. For more information on the IEA, please visit www.iea.cc.
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