Musculoskeletal complaint survey
A module is planned that collects the worker's own statement period by period: in which body region, for how long, how often and how severely a complaint is reported, and whether it affects work or daily life.
This page is written for the safety practitioner, occupational physician and HR lead who wants musculoskeletal complaints seen tidily by department and by task.
Scope of the module
- Survey identityThe period of the survey, the departments it covers, how many people it was opened to and how many responses came back stand at the head of the record. The participation rate is separate information when reading the result.
- Marking on a body mapThe complaint is taken by marking a region on a body diagram rather than by picking a word from a list: neck, shoulder, elbow, hand and wrist, upper back, lower back, hip, knee, ankle. For each region, duration, frequency, severity and whether it affects work are separate fields.
- Anonymous collection optionOpening the survey either with or without identity is planned. When collected anonymously, the result appears only broken down by department and task; there is no route back to the individual.
- Breakdown by department and taskResponses are aggregated by department, task and shift, and stored so that they can be compared with earlier periods of the same survey. Counts and rates come from the data as read, not from an example value.
- Linking to task measurementA region that stands out in a department can be linked to the manual handling, posture or station records of that department. Keeping the route from statement to measurement visible in the record is part of the planned scope.
What the survey measures and what it does not
This section describes the question the module puts on record.
The survey is not a diagnostic instrument. What it measures is the worker's statement: in which region, for how long, at what frequency and severity discomfort is reported. It does not name a disease and does not prove a cause.
What it does do is point at the place to look in the field. If lower back reports stand out in one department and hand and wrist reports in another, measuring the tasks of those departments gains priority.
So the survey carries meaning together with task measurement rather than on its own. Measurement records what is done, the survey records how it feels; when both sit in the same ledger, which work to take first becomes visible.
Routes that are open today
Until the module ships, the survey and measurement sides can be taken from the free references on this site.
- SurveysThe surveys open on this site and how they are run.
- How musculoskeletal risk is assessedThe short answer on what measurement should sit next to the statement.
- Ergonomic risk assessment guideA guide showing where asking the worker sits among the assessment steps.
- Health surveillanceWhere the statement passes to the clinical side; examination and report records are held there.
What this module does not cover
The survey does not replace clinical assessment, examination or the occupational disease process. Those items sit on the health surveillance side and form a separate set of records.
The page does not attribute any complaint to a job or a cause; the record holds only the statement and the conditions under which it was taken.
What this page says and does not say
What is open today is the framework: the surveys page, the guides and the answer pages are readable without an account.
At what breakdown do you want the survey
Tell us the headcount, the department breakdown and the frequency you want the survey run at; this feedback feeds the order of the roadmap.
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