# Advancing Workplace Safety Surveillance with Ambulatory Inertial Sensors

> **NIH ALLCDC K01** · AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT AUBURN · 2020 · $108,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are prevalent in the United States and are a major cause of
disability and lost productivity. Occupational health and safety (OHS) personnel employed in industries that
commonly report a high incidence of MSDs, such as manufacturing, are often responsible for evaluating and
modifying workspaces to prevent these conditions. Such efforts are often limited, however, by the routine
use of imprecise and biased self-report and/or observational-based exposure assessment methods.
Ambulatory inertial sensors (AISs) are innovative, objective, and valid direct measurement technologies that
have recently emerged as an alternative to self-report or observational-based methods for assessing exposure
to physical risk factors in occupational settings. Despite their small size, decreasing costs, and ubiquitous use
among the general public, the vast majority of OHS personnel employed in manufacturing do not currently
deploy AISs for workplace health and safety surveillance. This project will address three methodological
research gaps that currently prevent the adoption of AISs among OHS personnel. First, AISs will be deployed
among a stratified sample of 36 manufacturing workers performing cyclic and noncyclic work tasks (over 15
complete working days for each participant) to capture time-series estimates of workplace exposure to
selected physical risk factors. This data will be used to estimate the number of work days that must be
sampled to obtain stable exposure estimates and guide the selection of future sampling strategies. Second, a
workplace OHS “dashboard” will be developed, evaluated, and implemented that summarizes direct
measurements obtained from the AISs to better inform operational decision making. Finally, the effects of
using the AIS driven dashboard on exposure to physical risk factors and safety behaviors will be assessed in
the context of stakeholder perception of safety climate.
This proposal addresses several strategic goals identified in the Exposure Assessment and MSD Health and
Safety Cross-Sector Programs as well as the Manufacturing Industry Sector of the National Occupational
Research Agenda (NORA). The primary expected outcome is an increased understanding of how AISs may be
applied to improve workplace safety surveillance and reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. Outputs will
include journal and conference publications as well as an innovative Research to Practice (R2P) tool designed
to reduce the incidence and severity of MSDs and promote healthy workplace behaviors. An early career
scientist whose career goal is to become a prominent independent investigator who specializes in the design,
evaluation, and application of proactive workplace interventions that consider organizational characteristics to
prevent MSDs will gain invaluable experience and training.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9942348
- **Project number:** 5K01OH011183-03
- **Recipient organization:** AUBURN UNIVERSITY AT AUBURN
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark Christopher Schall
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $108,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9942348

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9942348, Advancing Workplace Safety Surveillance with Ambulatory Inertial Sensors (5K01OH011183-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9942348. Licensed CC0.

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