© Professor Alan Hedge, Cornell University, September 2001.

Slide 1 ___________________________________
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Job Strain Index (JSI)
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Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
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Slide 2 JSI Ratings

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1. Intensity of Exertion ___________________________________
2. Duration of Exertion
3. Efforts per Minute
4. Hand/Wrist Posture
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5. Speed of Work
6. Duration of Task per Day
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Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
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Slide 3 1. Intensity of Exertion ___________________________________

An estimate of the strength required to perform the task one time. Guidelines
for assigning a rating criterion are presented in the following table. ___________________________________
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Borg
Rating Criterion % MSA Scale Perceived Effort
B

Light <10% <=2 barely noticeable or relaxed effort

Somewhat Hard 10%-29% 3 noticeable or definite effort

Hard 30%-49% 4-5 obvious effort; unchanged facial expression

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Very Hard 50%-79% 6-7 substantial effort; changes facial expression

Near Maximal

APercentage of maximal strength

>=80% >7 uses shoulder or trunk to generate force

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BCompared to the Borg CR-10scale(76)

Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
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 © Professor Alan Hedge, Cornell University, September 2001.

Slide 4 2. Duration of Exertion

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Duration of Exertion is calculated by measuring the duration of all

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exertions during an observation period, then dividing the measured

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duration of exertion by the total observation time and multiplying by
100.

% Duration of Exertion = 100 x duration of all exertions (sec) ___________________________________

total observation time (sec)

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Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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Slide 5 3. Efforts per Minute

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Efforts per Minute are measured by counting the number of
exertions that occur during an observation period, then
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dividing the number of exertions by the duration of the
observation period, measured in minutes.
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Efforts per Minute = number of exertions
total observation time (min)
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Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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Slide 6 4. Hand/Wrist Posture

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Hand/Wrist Posture is an estimate of the position of the hand
or wrist relative to neutral position. Guidelines for assigning a
rating criterion are presented in the following table. ___________________________________
Ulnar
Wrist
Rating Criterion

Very Good
Wrist ExtensionA

0o-10o
FlexionA

0o-5o
Deviation
A

0o-10o
Perceived Posture

perfectly neutral
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o o o o o o
Good 11 -25 6 -15 11 -15 near neutral

Fair 26o-40o 16o-30o 16o-20o nonneutral

Bad 41o-55o 31o-50o 21o-25o marked deviation

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Very Bad >60o >50o >25o near extreme

A
From derived from data.

Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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 © Professor Alan Hedge, Cornell University, September 2001.

Slide 7 5. Speed of Work ___________________________________

Speed of Work is an estimate of how fast the worker is working.
Guidelines for assigning a rating criterion are presented in the
following table.
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Rating Criterion Compared to MTM-1A Perceived Speed ___________________________________
Very Slow <=80% extremely relaxed pace

Slow

Fair
81-90%

91-100%
"taking one's own time"

"normal" speed of motion

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Fast 101-115% rushed, but able to keep up

Very Fast >115% rushed and barely or unable to keep up

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AThe observed pace is divided by MTM-1's predicted pace and expressed as a percentage of predicted.

Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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Slide 8 6. Duration of Task per Day

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Duration of Task per Day is either measured or obtained
from plant personnel. ___________________________________
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Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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Slide 9 Job Strain Index

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Rating Intensity of Duration of Efforts/ Hand/Wrist Speed of Duration per
Exertion
(IE)
Exertion
(DE)
Minute
(EM)
Posture
(HWP)
Work
(SW)
Day
(DD) ___________________________________
1 Light <10% <4 Very good Very slow <1

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(1) (0.5) (0.5) (1) (1) (.25)

2 Somewhat 10-29% 4-8 Good Slow 1-2

hard (1) (1) (1) (1) (.5)
(3)
3 Hard
(6)
30-49%
(1.5)
9-14
(1.5)
Fair
(1.5)
Fair
(1)
2-4
(.75) ___________________________________
4 Very hard 50-79% 15-19 Bad Fast 4-8
(9) (2) (2) (2) (1.5) (1)
5 Near
maximal
(13)
80-100%
(3)
>=20
(3)
Very bad
(3)
Very fast
(2)
>=8
(1.5) ___________________________________
JSI = IE x DE x EM x HWP x SW x DD
Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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 © Professor Alan Hedge, Cornell University, September 2001.

Slide 10 Job Strain Index Worksheet

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Intensity
of
Duration of
Exertion
Efforts/
Minute
Hand/Wrist
Posture
Speed of
Work
Duration per
Day
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Exertion (DE) (EM) (HWP) (SW) (DD)
(IE)
Exposure
data ___________________________________
Ratings

Multipliers

SI Scores
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JSI = IE x DE x EM x HWP x SW x DD
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Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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Slide 11 Job Strain Index Worksheet ___________________________________

Example
Intensity
of
Duration
of
Efforts/
Minute
Hand/Wrist
Posture
Speed of
Work
Duration per
Day
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Exertion Exertion (EM) (HWP) (SW) (DD)
(IE) (DE)
Exposure
data
Somewhat
hard
60% 12 fair fair 4-8
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Ratings 2 4 3 3 3 4

Multipliers 3.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.0 1.0

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JSI = IE x DE x EM x HWP x SW x DD

JSI = 3.0 x 2.0 x 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.0 x 1.0

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JSI = 13.5

Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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Slide 12 Job Strain Index

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• Preliminary testing has revealed that jobs
associated with distal upper extremity disorders
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had SI Scores greater than 5.
• SI Scores less than or equal to 3 are probably ___________________________________
safe.
• SI Scores greater than or equal to 7 are probably
hazardous. ___________________________________
• The Strain Index does not consider stresses
related to localized mechanical compression.
This risk factor should be considered separately.
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Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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 © Professor Alan Hedge, Cornell University, September 2001.

Slide 13 JSI: Sensitivity Analysis

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140
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M e a n I n c i d e n c e R a te
120
100
80
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60
40 ___________________________________
20
0
<5 5-3 0 31 -60 >60 ___________________________________
Mean Incidence Rate = # MSD injuries/100 workers/Year

Moore, J.S. and Garg, A. (1995) American Industrial Hygiene Journal 56:443-58.
___________________________________
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