Description and Background: The rapid development of Canada’s wind industry presents both technical and human challenges – many of which are comparable to the early stages of the oil and gas industry (Hanson, 2013). Consequently, while there are significant environmental benefits of wind energy, wind turbine technicians are subject to potential threats of occupational health and safety. Recently, manual materials handling (MMH) and tasks that require substantial postural demands have been identified as some of wind turbine technicians most physically demanding tasks (Fischer et al., 2021). Limited literature exists regarding the work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WR-MSD) risks associated with these tasks. By understanding how people work, behave, and make decisions in the renewable industry, ergonomists can ensure that appropriate equipment, products, and systems are designed to best suit the work to the worker.
Hazard identification and risk assessment play an early and critical role in supporting long-term prevention efforts (van der Beek et al., 2017). In other words, it is necessary to understand the risk factors associated with MSDs, to identify, assess, and quantify WR-MSD hazards in Canada’s onshore wind industry. To emphasize the importance of proactive ergonomic strategies in Canada’s wind industry, the proposed presentation will provide an overview of WR-MSD risks involved in select daily work tasks of wind turbine technician and share the findings of ergonomic research at the University of Lethbridge, in partnership with the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) and MITACS. Specifically, this research seeks to investigate the WR-MSD risks associated with the loads and postural demands of a simulated yaw-drive replacement task. In presenting this research, we hope to highlight the importance of quantifying and assessing risk in an experimental setting to guide proactive ergonomic strategies in the field.
