ergonomic workplace assessment and survey of musculoskeletal injuries in a generator manufacturing company

background: musculoskeletal disorders (msds) are one of the most common causes of occupational injuries that appear mainly in back, neck and upper limb. this study was conducted with the objectives of determination of prevalence rate of msds among workers of a generator manufacturing company and ergonomics assessment of working conditions. methods: in this study, 319 workers randomly selected participated with at least one year work experience. in office jobs, data were gathered by using demographic questionnaire, nordic musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire (nmq) and ergonomics checklist for assessment of working conditions. in operation jobs, demographic questionnaire, nmq and exposure check quick (qec) method were applied to collect the required data. findings: means of age and work experience of study subjects was obtained 35.84±7.05 and 7.54±4.98 years, respectively. prevalence rates of musculoskeletal disorders in office and operation staff were 79.5% and 82.9%, respectively. working condition assessment by the checklist in office staff revealed that improving work station should be considered as a priority in ergonomics program. the results of assessment of physical exposure to musculoskeletal risks by qec technique showed among operational workers that totally, in 83.6% of workers studied, the level of exposure to musculoskeletal risks was high or very high. this indicated that the jobs and working conditions in the operational units were conducive for developing msds and needed corrections.   conclusion: in working conditions improvement in participants, pay attention to risk factors of lower back, neck, knee, upper back and shoulder into consideration seemed essential.