Asia Pacific Environmental and Occupational Health Journal

Objective: A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the ergonomics risk factors, identify the symptom or significant factors of Work- Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) and to find the relationship between exposure of ergonomic risk score and musculoskeletal complaints among sixty catering workers (n=60) in a self-owned catering com- pany in Malaysia.

Method: Data collection was done using two standard instruments, namely Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) and Quick Exposure Check (QEC Checklist).

Result: Based on the results, upper back (65%) and lower back (43.3%), area of knees (58.3%) and upper limbs (wrist and hand (46.7%) and shoulder (43.3%)) are the most dominant complaints among catering workers. QEC analysis shows that, shoulder, back and neck area giving high score for the postural assessment. On top of that, the relationship between gender and QEC Score was found to be absent (p-value = 0.65).

Conclusion: The risk factor of WMSDs which contributed into this problem is physical work demands such as repetitive manual work, lifting and forceful movements, awkward posture and efforts. These are well-known risk factors contributing to WMSDS.