Fatigue as a Cause of Falls: Understanding the Immediate Effect of Fatigue on Construction Workers’ Gait and Balance
Advisor Information
Jong-Hoon Youn, Ph.D.
Location
MBSC 222
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
6-3-2020 10:30 AM
End Date
6-3-2020 11:45 AM
Abstract
The construction industry accounts for the highest rate of occupational injuries with an astonishing number of fatal accidents due to falls, slips, and trips. Within this population, ironworkers are severely exposed to physically demanding and dangerous conditions which include working at great heights. Moreover, from an economic standpoint, thousands of dollars and hundreds of working hours are lost due to work-related injuries in the construction industry. Because of the physically intensive conditions under which ironworkers perform their occupation, we hypothesize that fatigue may be a leading cause of falls.
Therefore, this study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis and understanding of the impact of fatigue on gait stability and balance in order to explain the biomechanical mechanisms leading to falls in the population of ironworkers. To test our hypothesis, we collected gait characteristics of ironworkers using wearable accelerometers before and after a short period of fatigue-induced activity from a sample of twenty-six ironworkers in a slippery and non-slippery environment where participants were required to carry (or not to carry) their tool belts. Preliminary results showed that in both slippery and non-slippery environments, there are differences in the variability of gait patterns between populations of fatigued and non-fatigued individuals. However, further analyses are needed to confirm if these differences are considerable enough to show a connection between fatigue and risk of falls. Ultimately, acquiring the ability to clearly explain the causality between fatigue and falls will establish the venue to engineer devices capable of predicting falls within this population.
Fatigue as a Cause of Falls: Understanding the Immediate Effect of Fatigue on Construction Workers’ Gait and Balance
MBSC 222
The construction industry accounts for the highest rate of occupational injuries with an astonishing number of fatal accidents due to falls, slips, and trips. Within this population, ironworkers are severely exposed to physically demanding and dangerous conditions which include working at great heights. Moreover, from an economic standpoint, thousands of dollars and hundreds of working hours are lost due to work-related injuries in the construction industry. Because of the physically intensive conditions under which ironworkers perform their occupation, we hypothesize that fatigue may be a leading cause of falls.
Therefore, this study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis and understanding of the impact of fatigue on gait stability and balance in order to explain the biomechanical mechanisms leading to falls in the population of ironworkers. To test our hypothesis, we collected gait characteristics of ironworkers using wearable accelerometers before and after a short period of fatigue-induced activity from a sample of twenty-six ironworkers in a slippery and non-slippery environment where participants were required to carry (or not to carry) their tool belts. Preliminary results showed that in both slippery and non-slippery environments, there are differences in the variability of gait patterns between populations of fatigued and non-fatigued individuals. However, further analyses are needed to confirm if these differences are considerable enough to show a connection between fatigue and risk of falls. Ultimately, acquiring the ability to clearly explain the causality between fatigue and falls will establish the venue to engineer devices capable of predicting falls within this population.