Validity and inter-observer reliability of subjective hand-arm vibration assessments.
Exposure to mechanical vibrations at work (e.g., due to handling powered tools) is a potential occupational risk as it may cause upper extremity complaints. However, reliable and valid assessment methods for vibration exposure at work are lacking. Measuring hand-arm vibration objectively is often difficult and expensive, while often used information provided by manufacturers lacks detail. Therefore, a subjective hand-arm vibration assessment method was tested on validity and inter-observer reliability. In an experimental protocol, sixteen tasks handling powered tools were executed by two workers. Hand-arm vibration was assessed subjectively by 16 observers according to the proposed subjective assessment method. As a gold standard reference, hand-arm vibration was measured objectively using a vibration measurement device. Weighted κ's were calculated to assess validity, intra-class-correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to assess inter-observer reliability. Inter-observer reliability of the subjective assessments depicting the agreement among observers can be expressed by an ICC of 0.708 (0.511-0.873). The validity of the subjective assessments as compared to the gold-standard reference can be expressed by a weighted κ of 0.535 (0.285-0.785). Besides, the percentage of exact agreement of the subjective assessment compared to the objective measurement was relatively low (i.e., 52% of all tasks). This study shows that subjectively assessed hand-arm vibrations are fairly reliable among observers and moderately valid. This assessment method is a first attempt to use subjective risk assessments of hand-arm vibration. Although, this assessment method can benefit from some future improvement, it can be of use in future studies and in field-based ergonomic assessments.
Research Institute MOVE, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 9, 1081BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: p.coenen@vu.nl.
Pieter
P
Coenen
TNO Sustainable Productivity and Employability, Polarisavenue 151, 2132 JJ Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. Electronic address: margrietformanoy@gmail.com.
Margriet
M
Formanoy
TNO Sustainable Productivity and Employability, Polarisavenue 151, 2132 JJ Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. Electronic address: marjolein.douwes@tno.nl.
Marjolein
M
Douwes
TNO Sustainable Productivity and Employability, Polarisavenue 151, 2132 JJ Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. Electronic address: tim.bosch@tno.nl.
Tim
T
Bosch
TNO Sustainable Productivity and Employability, Polarisavenue 151, 2132 JJ Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. Electronic address: heleen.dekraker@tno.nl.
Heleen
H
de Kraker
D000328:Adult; D001132:Arm; D060389:Construction Industry; D004864:Equipment and Supplies / Q000009:adverse effects; D006804:Ergonomics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014732:Vibration / Q000009:adverse effects
Hand-arm vibration; Risk assessment; Validity