4. Discussion
4.1. Major findings
In this study with a follow-up of 2 years, we found that among
nine construction occupations (1) the use of ergonomic measures
for vertical transport increased statistically significantly by 9%. The
use of ergonomic measures for horizontal transport and for the
positioning of materials showed no differences. The lightening of
the physical load was the most mentioned reason for using ergonomic
measures, whereas the unavailability of ergonomic equipment
was the most mentioned barrier; (2) no change in MSDs for
most bodily regions was found, with the exception that statistically
significantly fewer shoulder complaints were reported (11%); (3)
there was no relationship between an increase in the use of ergonomic
measures and a decrease in MSDs; and (4) the majority of
respondents indicated that they had sufficient knowledge about
ergonomic measures