Characterization of Musculoskeletal Disorders in the manufacturing industry in northwest of México
Abstract
The aim of this work is to characterize occupational injuries in northwestern Mexico. To make this work resorted to the original source, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), who certifies labor lesions generated in the workplace. On the other hand, 706 workstations of the Manufacturing Industry were evaluated to determine the level of ergonomic risk. The results are: In the period between the years 2010-2014 its shows the increase of Musculoskeletal Disasters (MSD), from 84 in the year 2010 to 310 in 2014. The prevalence of injury is greater in women than in men. In the early years (2010-2012) the shoulder was the most affected part of the body, but in the entire series of years, the wrist has a positive trend that exceeds the shoulder in recent years. In reviewing injuries by industry can be seen that the wrist has prevalence in the electronics industry, the shoulder in the automotive industry, but MSD injuries decreased in the textile industry. Also a positive relationship between the data obtained from IMSS and assessments made in companies considering a correlation coefficient of 0.758 was found.
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Introduction
In the eighteenth century the work of the Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini "De Morbis artificum diatribe" in which the most common injuries of the craftsmen of that time are described [1]. As we can see, from that time the relationship between the type of work and injuries is known. Unfortunately, in Mexico there is no reliable statistical basis of the lesions that develop in the workplace. Currently, more than half of the countries do not provide adequate statistics on occupational diseases and the available data relate mainly to injuries and deaths. This not only makes it difficult to identify specific injuries or diseases of men and women, but also hinders the development of effective measures for all prevention. Globally, more than half of the countries do not provide statistics on occupational diseases. Many countries have social security systems including compensation schemes for occupational accidents and diseases; however, its coverage is limited to workers in the formal economy, where it is not effective because systems for recording and reporting are deficient. Therefore, it is reported and indemnifies few numbers of occupational accidents. The situation regarding occupational diseases is even more complicated. In fact, in most countries, it is only covered a portion of the actual cases, reflecting the difficulty of definition, recognition and reporting [2].
In Mexico there is little information and it is not well classified, as seen in the data submitted in 1998-2002 by the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (Mexican Institute of Social Security, IMSS) where it appears that the total of Musculoskeletal Disasters (MSD) were 217 for a total of 12,232,301 affiliates workers [3].
Conclusion
The lack of reliable information does not allow occupational health policies that reduce the MSD and improve the quality of life of workers. Currently in Mexico the importance given to Ergonomics issues is very little when designing products or processes in manufacturing companies because there is no appropriate legislation and this lack of interest causes the growth of MSD. In 2015 it will be introduced the new Regulation of Health and Safety at Work, a federal law. This new law establishes the obligation for all companies to make a map for ergonomic risks (MSD) and an improvement plan, which would diminish the MSD in a short term. Moreover, if it is known what kind of disorder (MSD) is the most common in each industry, then is possible to design control plans to avoid high costs of labor compensation and improve the work environment.