An Integrated and Validated Ergonomic Risk Assessment Framework for the Construction Industry

Abstract

The construction industry is among the most hazardous occupational sectors, with workers frequently exposed to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to heavy manual tasks, awkward postures, and repetitive movements. Globally, work-related MSDs affect more than 1.7 billion people, while studies in India report MSD prevalence among construction workers ranging between 55% and 70%, highlighting the severity of the problem in labour-intensive construction environments. In India, where construction remains largely labour-intensive and ergonomics is often overlooked, the need for systematic and validated risk assessment is critical. This study proposes a standardized ergonomic assessment methodology that integrates observational tools—Workplace Ergonomic Risk Assessment (WERA) and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA)—with worker-reported MSD outcomes. Unlike many previous studies that relied exclusively on self-reported questionnaires or single observational assessments, this dual-framework approach combines objective posture evaluation with worker feedback to improve assessment validity, reliability, and applicability across construction settings. The findings reveal job-specific ergonomic risk profiles, with plumbers and electricians exhibiting the highest MSD prevalence, confirming the practical value of integrating posture analysis, ergonomic scoring, and self-reported outcomes. Beyond identifying high-risk roles, the methodology provides actionable, data-driven insights for task redesign, rotation scheduling, targeted training programs, and ergonomic risk-factor mitigation. The inclusion of quantitative validation using ergonomic risk scores and predictive analysis further differentiates this study from purely descriptive ergonomic assessments. By bridging observational data with worker-reported outcomes, this research contributes a replicable, scalable, and context-sensitive ergonomic framework capable of supporting proactive safety interventions, strengthening safety culture, and enhancing productivity in the construction industry.