Issue:

Previous studies show that needle-less injectors eliminate the problems caused by needle-stick injuries, are more consistent in vaccine delivery, use smaller volume of vaccine, have higher antigen dispersion, better immune response, and eliminate the need for needle disposal. From an occupational health and safety perspective, the needle-less injector can reduce mechanical spread of infectious diseases and improve worker safety by eliminating accidental needle sticks. However, needle-less injectors may introduce unintended injuries caused by increased frequency of grip force and awkward postures. The researchers note that although needle-less injector usage is on the rise it is not universal among swine producers, primarily due to the uncertainty about implementation costs. In addition, studies on ergonomic evaluation of MSD risk factors are scarce because of the diversity of tasks on farms, limited direct-measurement technologies, and difficulties with obtaining access to farms to conduct interventional research or economic evaluations. The researchers propose to address these gaps in the current state of knowledge by collecting ground breaking data gathered directly from pig barns in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Objectives:

This study proposes to develop a comprehensive toolkit to evaluate workplace injuries from musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and ergonomic risk factors among workers in the pork industry in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The study would:

• Investigate the implementation of needle-less injectors in terms of cost, productivity, injury rates, biomechanical exposures, and worker preference;
• Develop decision-making tools for evaluating new technology in terms of the benefits to occupational health and safety, as well as business impacts; and
• Promote the decision-making toolkit for pork producers and other stakeholders in the swine production industry.

Anticipated Results:

the study would fill a gap in knowledge and understanding of ergonomic-related interventions in agriculture settings; and it would develop, implement, and evaluate a set of protocols to measure the efficacy of new technologies to improve workplace health and safety in the pork production industry. The results would provide evidence-based economic and productivity information that producers actually could use in their decision-making.

Investigators:

Catherine Trask, Brenna Bath, Stephan Milosavljevic, Aaron Kociolek, Bernardo Predicala, Lee Whittington and Erika Penz, University of Saskatchewan