3.8. Opinion leaders share their ex

3.8. Opinion leaders share their experiences with peers
At the end of the pilot study, presentations were given on the
ladder lift by the opinion leaders at four labour-management
committee meetings and two sub-trade committees: pipe-trades
and refrigeration; 32 people filled out evaluation questionnaires at
the meetings on what they thought of the presentations.
3.9. Analysis
The effectiveness of the innovation and dissemination strategy
was evaluated through an analysis of the worker usability surveys,
the interviews of the opinion leaders, a biomechanical analysis of
loading and unloading ladders using the hydraulic lift, and an
analysis of the evaluation of the impact of the presentations of the
opinion leaders by those attending the health and safety committee
meetings.
4. Results
Our analysis identified four elements of the diffusion of
innovation process that influenced the dynamics of adoption: (1)
the relevance and usefulness of the innovation; (2) the characteristics
of the adopting construction companies; (3) the credibility
of the opinion leaders as promoters of the innovation; and (4)
the barriers and facilitators facing the adoption of innovations in
the construction sector. It also examined the effectiveness of the
dissemination strategy.
4.1. The innovation
The findings from the biomechanical analysis indicated the
ladder lift in comparison to a manual lifting off of a ladder reduced
low back loading (Vi et al., 2007). A mean peak low back
compression force of 3870 N (SD ¼ 1120 N) was observed when
participants lifted the ladder from the top of the fixed ladder rack.
Using the hydraulic drop down ladder rack system, a mean peak
low back compression force of 3540 N (SD ¼ 1080 N) was observed.
The peak forces occurred when participants lifted the ladder onto
the side of the vans. A paired t-test was performed and a signifi-
cantly (P < 0.1) higher peak low back compression force was found
when participants used the fixed ladder racks. The results indicated