ABSTRACT
Critical appraisal demonstrated that the quality of health studies on heavy equipment operators were marginal to average. There was an association between working as heavy equipment operator and lower back pain. Heavy equipment is engineering vehicles designed to execute specialized, heavy-duty tasks such as engineering and construction activities. The operation of heavy equipment may expose its driver to multiple ergonomic risk factors, including static work postures, whole-body vibration, shock, physical work demands, climatic conditions, and psychosocial factors. A meta-analysis was conducted using the fixed-effect model if there was no heterogeneity at the 10% level; else, the random-effects model was applied. Thirteen articles were found which matched the inclusion criteria clearly specified in the research question. Heterogeneity was found for all groups except forklift operators. Therefore, the random-effects models were used for crane, tractor, and earth moving operators.
