A portable ergonomic observation method (PEO) for computerized on-line recording of postures and manual handling.

A new portable ergonomic observation method (PEO) is presented. It is applicable to most professions and work tasks and requires only moderate human resources for data collection and analysis. Observations are made in real time directly at the workplace using a portable personal or hand-held computer, and data are accessible for immediate analysis and presentation. Duration and number of events are calculated for postures at four body regions (arms, neck, trunk and knee) as well as for manual handling. An evaluation of the PEO method, assessing some important aspects of internal validity as well as intra- and inter-observer reliability, was carried out using video recordings. It showed acceptable validity for some types of physical exposure, and high intra- and inter-observer reliability. Practical experiences from using the PEO method in a field study and further improvements of the method are discussed.