Subject Matter Experts Versus OSH Practitioners: Criteria Selection for the Assessment of Pushing and Pulling of Wheeled Equipment in the Workplace

Abstract

The current study aimed to determine the critical variables for the assessment of pushing and pulling (PP) of wheeled equipment based on the survey conducted among occupational safety and health (OSH) practitioners and subject matter experts (SMEs). An online survey among OSH practitioners and SMEs from the respective industries was undertaken to gain further insight into some of the issues. The online survey selection was based on the mode value as it is more significant compared to the median value for each variable. The variables in the SMEs were chosen based on the validity ratio above 0.59. The number of SMEs provided was 11. Out of the 23 variables in assessing the PP activities, 11 (47.8%) variables (handle height, handgrip, load magnitude, frequency, distance, presence of co-workers, posture, task duration, floor conditions, congestion in the workplace, and the age of workers) turned out to be essential from the OSH practitioners survey. The SMEs’ reviews resulted in 13 (56.5%) variables (type of device, wheel diameter, handle height, handgrip, load magnitude, frequency, distance, posture, task duration, floor condition, obstacles along route, congestion and gender). It is interesting to observe that most of the variables were not considered in the currently available risk assessment tool targeting PP. Therefore, it is reasonable to develop a new assessment tool for PP activities by considering the input from the OSH practitioners and SMEs.