Determining How Long Truck Driver Whole Body Vibration Exposure Data Has to Be Collected to Estimate Actual Daily Exposures

Abstract

Exposure to Whole body Vibration (WBV) has been associated with an increased prevalence of low back pain in occupational settings. Current WBV directives, guidelines and standards are devoid of any recommendations for the length of time needed to accurately and reliably characterize a vehicle operator’s daily, full-shift exposure to WBV. Using full-shift, seat-measured, tri-axial WBV exposures from a group of 64 regional truck drivers, the daily WBV exposures were cut to simulate different lengths of measurement (5, 7.5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240 and 480 min). The differing lengths of the data (5 to 240 min) were then normalized to reflect 8-h of vehicle operation [A(8) and VDV(8)]. The analysis of the data demonstrated that the z-axis was the predominant exposure axis and a measurement duration of 30-min or longer would be required to accurately estimate a truck driver’s daily, full-shift A(8) and VDV(8) exposures. Determining the minimum required measurement duration can help reduce the costs associated with WBV exposure assessment.