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Abstract
Objectives To assess the physical strains of employees in the German offshore wind industry, according to job type and phase of the wind farm (under construction or operation).
Design Web-based cross-sectional survey.
Setting Offshore wind farm companies operating within the German exclusive economic zone.
Participants Male workers with regular offshore commitments and at least 28 days spent offshore in the past year (n=268).
Outcome measures Physical strains (eg, climbing, noise, working overhead, with twisted upper body or in confined spaces, vibration, heavy lifting, humidity, odours).
Results The most frequently mentioned physical strain was ’climbing’ with 63.8% of the respondents reporting to be always or frequently confronted with climbing and ascending stairs during offshore work. Work as a technician was associated with a greater exposition to noise, vibrations, humidity, cold, heat, chemical substances, lifting/carrying heavy loads, transport of equipment, working in non-ergonomic positions and in cramped spaces, as well as climbing.
Indeed, statistical analyses showed that, after adjusting for phase of the wind farm, age, nationality, offshore experience, work schedule and type of shift, compared with non-technicians, working as a technician was associated with more frequently lifting/carrying of heavy loads (OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.58 to 4.23), transport of equipment (OR 2.06 95% CI 1.27 to 3.33), working with a twisted upper body (OR 2.85 95% CI 1.74 to 4.69), working overhead (OR 2.77 95% CI 1.67 to 4.58) and climbing (OR 2.30 95% CI 1.40 to 3.77). Working in wind farms under construction was strongly associated with increased and decreased exposure to humidity (OR 2.32 95% CI 1.38 to 3.92) and poor air quality (OR 0.58 95% CI 0.35 to 0.95), respectively.
Conclusions Workers on offshore wind farms constitute a heterogeneous group, including a wide variety of occupations. The degree of exposure to detrimental physical strains varies depending on the type of job. Technicians are more exposed to ergonomic challenges than other offshore workers.
- offshore
- job demands
- physical strains
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Footnotes
Contributors AMP and SM conceived the study and led the application for funding. MVG and JM designed the survey with inputs from SM and AMP. MVG ran the statistical analysis and wrote the first draft. All authors (MVG, JM, SM, VH, AMP) contributed to the interpretation of data, provided inputs on the first draft and revised the manuscript.
Funding German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant number: 01FA15029).
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Detail has been removed from these case descriptions to ensure anonymity. The editors and reviewers have seen the detailed information available and are satisfied that the information backs up the case the authors are making.
Ethics approval Ethics Review Committee of the Hamburg Medical Association.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Data sharing statement No additional data are available.