Risk Factors for Musculoskeletal Injuries among Airport Customer Service Employees

Abstract

Musculoskeletal pain and discomfort are common among baggage handlers and airport customer service agents, yet little has been done to understand and address their frequent exposure to ergonomic risks when handling customer baggage. The objective of this study is to assess various areas of airport customer service (ACS) to identify the areas with high risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Subjective surveys and objective assessment tools were used to assess the physical workloads of 377 airport employees. Findings showed that ramp agents experienced higher workload and musculoskeletal injury risks. The overall workload for ALAs (Aircraft Loading Agents) is reported to be 4.3 to 11.1 higher than cargo, and gate and VIP club agents ( p<0.05) and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) of employees showed than the REBA scores for ALAs are 3.5 to 4.8 points higher than cargo agents, customer service agents, gate agents and VIP club employees ( p<0.001). To address these exposures, several interventions may reduce the overall risk of injuries and improve long-term productivity of aircraft loading/unloading agents and baggage handlers.