title: Creating a climate for ergonomic changes in the construction industry.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ergonomic solutions that have gained acceptance in other industries are often considered not applicable to a construction work environment, even though the industry is characterized by high physical work demands.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted 50 key informant interviews with 23 contractor representatives and 27 union staff, plus 4 focus groups with a total of 48 workers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Many workers hold the belief that WMSDs are inevitable as part of the job, and did not consistently believe that changing the nature of the work could prevent that injury or pain. The interviewees reported limited availability and accessibility of tested and effective tools that both reduce physical demand and also get the job done efficiently and effectively. Yet for each major obstacle to implementation of ergonomics in the industry identified, the construction professionals we interviewed offered a variety of solutions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contractors, unions, and workers need to work together to find actions that work within the parameters of the current economic environment.
authors.affiliation: State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, California.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Boatman
authors.affiliation: State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, California.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chaplan
authors.affiliation: Coordinator of Public Programs, Labor Occupational Health Project, University of California at Berkeley, California.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Teran
authors.affiliation: CPWR: Center for Construction Research and Training, Medical Director, CPWR, Silver Spring, Maryland.
authors.forename: Laura S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Welch
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control; D060389:Construction Industry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006804:Ergonomics; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009787:Occupational Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods; D040241:Social Marketing; D017132:Workplace
keywords: MSD; construction; ergonomics; focus group; intervention; musculoskeletal disorder; qualitative