Table IV.

Facilitators and barriers for each innovation

Ergonomic Solutions	Facilitators	Barriers
Power crimper	Low cost, faster, less effort to crimp metal than manual method; overall positive (offset of cost); contractor will purchase when job needs it; worker sees benefit, increased return on investment, quality of crimp,	Infrequent task for some contractors, need for crimper may be low; requires additional and separate designated drill, more to carry onto the worksite
Pry bar – extended	Less ratcheting of jacks, improved productivity; less complex than ratchets/jacks; cheap, fast; “no brains” required; better leverage, load of 140# not significant so effort required to use device is low, but does not replace load or effort of the task; not difficult; low cost, easy to transport, easy fit in area; less ratcheting, increased productivity; workers adopted it even though it was a concrete tool; workers paid for this to trial even though it was $90; easy to see the advantage	Potential safety risk, load shifts when no force holding it
Grout sponge roller basin	Faster, affordable, user friendly, simple design; Increased production; reduces frequency of hand squeezing; spread by word of mouth; no extra steps; workers lending to others for trial; easy to see impact, decreased repetition.	Purchase before trialing, more equipment to clean; not available for trial unless you know someone
Electric carpet puller	Easy to use, accepted among floor layers; more efficient, fewer man-hours more than offsets the cost; quality, they are buying them; device available to trial by two companies in the study	Not used for small jobs, slow speed; transport, room size
Carpet puller – manual	Easy to use and see advantage, accepted among workers; accommodation of simple tools leads to complexity – carrying, bringing, owning, etc.; benefit outweighs barriers having to carry it to have available; low cost, simple to use; comfort, durability; accepted norm; does not require reorganization [of tasks]; must be available when needed – may be carried in a bucket with other equipment used to demo carpet; easy to see	Extra tool to carry; only replaces a portion of the carpet demo task
Positioners for work tasks	Dual purposes, low cost; using available equipment at site or very inexpensive to trial	Availability, transport, and placement may affect work flow; depends upon how well the positioner interfaces at the task, how long to adjust
Overhead drill press	Improved quality of holes, cleaner air, faster process; able to roll it in and use; easy to procure; high observability to early adopter; less dust; less fatigue, less force, [better] posture; housekeeping; Return On Investment good in some circumstances; better productivity in some settings; so easy even apprentice can use it, trainability	Can’t use if ceilings are too high; sheet metal trade school and union members did not easily observe the benefits of this device; wheels too big, [limited use to only] large jobs, have to transport [to worksite], lock up [concern for theft]
Various rolling carts	Easier to transport loads, able to move more at one time, accepted in the workplace, widely available, easy to see the benefits, culturally accepted; able to carry more at one time, cost; accepted; not significant cost, generally owned by contractor; good for long periods of packing heavy items or few workers; available to assist, carts are beneficial	May slow work down, malfunctioning wheels (need maintenance); often specific to task; may not be readily available; need to plan to have at site, need maintenance
Power shears / snips	Low cost, faster, less effort to cut metal than manual method; no hot metal [from other methods]; no cord; overall positive, but there are some limitations; contractor would purchase for roof work. Worker would purchase on his own; easy to learn; see other below; no change in work process; faster to work with much less effort; improve safety, less cords; simple, may decrease need for tools, only use one tool	Workforce norms, difficult to use overhead; may be perceived as too different from the way work has always been done for tinners, but does not introduce different work process; snips do just as good of a job; heavy and awkward to use overhead (2-part tool, must hold both); have to charge batteries, heavy and durability [unknown]
Custom fit knee and shin pads	Easy to see the benefits for knee comfort; simple to use; decreased fatigue, comfort; accepted, only because most guys wear them all of the time	Unable to trial before purchase. Initial cost to worker; not useful on slippery surface unless the worker adds friction tape, raises worker further from the floor so may cause increased low back flexion [poor posture]; some behavior change limitations to use them all the time; cost to worker limits trials
Ride-on scraper	Increased productivity, able to rent / trial; savings on labor cost; faster job; training from supplier, cost of large curve; easy to see benefit	Initial cost if purchasing, cost for learning curve; transport, side prep; maintenance cost for breakdown.
Vibration dampening gloves	Easy to see the advantages for protecting the hand from impact and vibration; good, provided that gloves are flexible/good fit	Gloves must be chosen correctly for the task; bulkiness, temperature, finger dexterity are potential barriers to the task; changing gloves, hot, bulky, interfere with some tasks; remove glove for some series of steps, have gloves onsite when needed
Knee pad with body support (K2S)	Easy to see benefits for knee comfort and supporting body weight; decreased body weight on legs, decreased fatigue; less stress on knees, workers open to it; no reorganization [in work tasks]; makes sense; provide upper body support; easy to see impact of use; readily available online; simple;	Unable to trial before purchase. Initial cost to worker; more a barrier than other knee pads, ; limited use with intermittent kneeling task; easy to use when on floor, but difficult to walk in, can’t use for all tasks; [perceived as] sitting down on the job; requires using more than 1 type of knee pad for kneeling task; unable to rent or trial before purchase; prolonged kneel [posture during use]; strap on [to don]
3D Laser Scanning	Newer technology, reduces kneeling and ladder climbing; worker useful skill, decreased floor work, “way of the future” may help them get [bid] larger jobs better work flow in theory	Costly, uncertain return on investment, large learning curve for IT team/GC team, different from low tech/current process, requires large changes in work processes; planning, coordinating with GC, IT team; all in or nothing
Stand up trowel	Easy to see benefits of standing versus working on hands and knees; improved postures; workers open to trialing it; might be faster and more comfortable; work faster and larger in an upright position; workers feel it will benefit their body; probably 1 day learning curve; no big change; just replaces the hand trowel; cleaning similar; easy to see advantage	Not widely available for purchase. Unable to spread all types of adhesives; may not be accepted due to workforce norms; difficult to control glue and use device for good quality; need time to train with it, one session not enough; may be barrier to floor laying culture, workers are used to using a hand trowel; not typical way to do the work; not useful for many work conditions; they want it to work, but found it was difficult; now need 2 devices instead of one (need to cut in with hand trowel)
Rolling chest support	Easy to see the benefits; easy to use; no training needed; outweighs barrier; better for low back; maybe great for some jobs; chest support to decrease fatigue	How to carry other equipment supplies [while using the device]; only usable for certain tasks. may not be accepted due to workforce norms; not available so must purchase to trial; need open floor; limited utility; others perceive you aren’t doing the job right, increased cost, must transport to site; sitting down on job; might object work organization; how to move equipment and cost