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2012, Work (Reading, Mass.)
Upper limbs repetitive tasks are one of the main sources of risk for the workers of the manufacturing industries and the standards ISO 11228-3 and EN 1005-5 addressed this issue since 2007. EAWS (European Assembly Worksheet) is a 1st level ergonomic risk assessment method and it provides in its 4th section a score to measure the load level for the upper limbs based on a traffic light scheme. According to the relevant ISO/CEN standards, the OCRA Index is the preferred system to refer to in the evaluation of the biomechanical stress of hand-harm-shoulder system. This correlation study is based on a 45 workstations sample coming from the automobile manufacturing industry. According to the results, EAWS4 shows an excellent correlation with OCRA index (Spearman's rho correlation index 0.95). Being EAWS based on biometric statistical data distribution, its typical application is the process design phase, but adopting a conservative approach in the interpretation of EAWS4 score for ris...
2007, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics
Work
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are extremely common health problem and have important consequences for the individual and the society which are affecting millions of European workers across all employment sectors. One of the main objectives of TIAM is to collect good practices in prevention of WMSDs and disseminate the good practice to all the regions. Three documents related to collect good practices (Good practices definition, Good practices report form and Questionnaire form for regional policy) had been sent to all the participant regions. Good practices and successful experiences or innovations in WMSDs prevention have been collected from 5 European regions. A good practice database has been developed based on 8 categories: TIAM region; Sector; Topic; WMSDs relevance; Work activities; Risk assessment methodology; Results of reassessment and Impact on performance. Finally, the database has been successfully uploaded onto the website (www.TIAM.eu) in order to shar...
Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) is currently not only a health problem in enterprises across six European regions which are Catalonia (ES), Lombardy (IT), South-West Bohemia (CZ) Upper Austria (AU), Estonia (EE), Provincie Noord-Brabantv(NL), but also impacts negatively on productivity and on the competitiveness of enterprises. This project, granted by Innovation 4 Welfare (I4W), will provide a high value to enterprises in the participating regions. However, although EU-legislation has established new and highly innovative technical standards the area of “physical ergonomics, specifically aimed at protecting the “working population” from biomechanical and organizational risks for WMSDs, it is still not easy for users to find a suitable tool or strategy for identifying hazards and assessing risks for purposes of WMSDs prevention effectively. Another equally important aspect is that there is a big gap between applications and the EN standards regarding to WMSD prevention within European regions. Hence, this project (TIAM) aims at developing a set of toolkits to help users find the most suitable and effective solution to the problem at hand, on the other hand, to strengthen the application of EN standards based WMSD prevention tools and methods in European workplace. As a result, four types of tools have been developed for both simple tasks and more complex variable tasks in this project. Additionally, there are two main policy recommendations which have been drawn from the result of the project: 1) Create legislative conditions supporting ergonomic methods in SMEs and risk management concerning WMSD; 2) Promote information on European legislation concerning the ergonomics and WMSD. This paper closes by suggesting that an essential element for successful prevention of WMSDs is the interaction between the workers and the policy makers, knowledge providers.
2012, Work (Reading, Mass.)
When studying WMSDs, several determinants and their interrelationship are considered as relevant. Hence the necessity of an "holistic" approach to prevention, especially when preparing technical rules and strategic plans. There is a strong request, from OSH agencies and operators, for developing "simple" tools for risk assessment and management. In this context WHO asked IEA to develop a "Toolkit for WMSD prevention". The paper presents one of the main contribution to this WHO project, focused on selecting tools at different level for hazard identification, risk estimation and management. Proposals are based on two essential criteria: Acting on a step-by-step approach; Taking into account the presence of multiple influencing factors. The proposals consider: A Basic Step devoted to hazard identification by operative "key-enter" questions, that can be operated also by non-experts. A First Step, (quick assessment), for identifying 3 possible cond...
2012, Work (Reading, Mass.)
During the last Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), Beijing, August 2009, an international group was founded aimed at developing a "toolkit for MSD prevention" within IEA and in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO). Possible users of toolkits are: members of health and safety committees, health and safety representatives, line supervisors; labor inspectors; health workers implementing basic occupational health services; occupational health and safety specialists.According to ISO standard 11228 series and the new Draft CD ISO 12259-2009: Application document guides for the potential user, a computer software ( in Excel®) was create dealing with hazard "mapping" in handicraft The proposed methodology, using specific key enters and quick assessment criteria, allows a simple ergonomics hazard identification and risk estimation. Thus it makes possible to decide for which professional hazards a more exhaustive risk assessment will ...
2012, Work
2004, Computers & Industrial Engineering
2013, 7th IFAC Conference on Manufacturing Modelling, Management, and Control, 2013
International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Safety
Automation of assembly work was originally developed to increase operation efficiency and to reduce workload. However, a considerable number of unanticipated ergonomic problems have been observed such as the interaction between humans and automated systems. The aims of this study were to quantify joint angle positions (shoulder, elbow and wrist) of workers in two assembly lines with different mechanization levels and analyse the performance of an inertial motion capture system. Seven experienced female assemblers participated in this study. The measurements were performed in the workplace with a full-body inertial measurement system (Xsens MVN BIOMECH system). Maximum cross-correlation between angle-time courses was calculated to quantify the waveform similarities. In manual line, there are larger variations of joint angles than in the semi-automatic one. The analysis of cross correlation coefficients revealed that electromagnetic interferences are potential limitations to the use o...
Sensors
Wearable devices are pervasive solutions for increasing work efficiency, improving workers’ well-being, and creating interactions between users and the environment anytime and anywhere. Although several studies on their use in various fields have been performed, there are no systematic reviews on their utilisation in ergonomics. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to identify wearable devices proposed in the scientific literature for ergonomic purposes and analyse how they can support the improvement of ergonomic conditions. Twenty-eight papers were retrieved and analysed thanks to eleven comparison dimensions related to ergonomic factors, purposes, and criteria, populations, application and validation. The majority of the available devices are sensor systems composed of different types and numbers of sensors located in diverse body parts. These solutions also represent the technology most frequently employed for monitoring and reducing the risk of awkward postures. In addit...
2010, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
2000, Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
2021
The civil construction sector has difficulties in applying effective risk assessment methods for studying the biomechanical overhead, due to the complex work organization of tasks in situ and lack of ergonomics professionals. The biggest challenge in this sector is the fact that workers perform variable tasks, not just on a daily basis, but during all work activity (which can be weekly, monthly or even annually). Given that the organization of work in this sector includes a large number of manual tasks, each with a different level of exposure patterns to biomechanical risks, the working structure makes task analysis and risk evaluation very complex. This article presents a general model adapted to prevention of musculoskeletal diseases in the construction sector, in order to improve the health and safety of workers. Considering the presence of rotations between several repetitive tasks that are completed in periods longer than the day (macrocycles with annual turnover) the OCRA meth...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Risk analysis is one of the main tools for preventing the occurrence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders. New methods of risk analysis should seek to be more agile and simplified, encouraging them to be widely applied in work environments. This paper aimed to develop a rapid tool for assessing the risk of developing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) arising from repetitive actions of the upper limbs, while using a thermographic camera to measure skin temperature variation. A workstation was developed in an environmentally controlled laboratory, representing the five levels of risk presented by the Occupational Repetitive Actions Index (OCRA) Index, which were performed by 32 participants for 20 min. each level. There was a significant change in forearm skin temperature at all risk levels (p < 0.001), with a positive linear correlation (r = 0.658 and p < 0.001), which led the authors to perform linear regression analysis for the forearm region. The Predicted ...
2017, Chemical engineering transactions
Hand-held Olive Beaters: Analysis of the Upper Limb Disorders and Hand-arm Vibration Risks Angela Calvo, Elio Romano, Giampaolo Schillaci, Christian Preti, Roberto Deboli a DISAFA (Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences and Technologies), Largo P.Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Turin, Italy b CREA-ING. Unità di Ricerca per l’Ingegneria Agraria, Via Milano 43, 24047 Treviglio, Bergamo, Italy] c Di3A (Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente Sezione Meccanica e Meccanizzazione) Università degli Studi di Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania. d IMAMOTER Institute for Agricultural and Earth-moving Machines of C.N.R (Italian National Research Council), Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Turin, Italy giampaolo.schillaci@unict.it
Industrial Health
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published a new Technical Specification (TS), ISO/TS 20646-1 "Ergonomic procedures for the improvement of local muscular workloads (LMWL)--Part 1: Guidelines for reducing local muscular workloads" in 2004. However, little is known about whether the ISO/TS is really effective in taking action to improve the work conditions in real workplaces. This paper discussed the impact of preventive activities planned and carried out according to the ISO/TS in 17 enterprises. Results indicated that 61 improvements (96%) had already been implemented (63%) or in progress (33%) within 6 months of the start of the activities. Besides the initial improvements, new improvements added within one year reached 84 cases and 10 cases were in progress in 15 enterprises. Comprehensive risk analysis, which consisted of a series of applications of action oriented checklist and group discussions, contributed to the detection of widely diversifie...
International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation
Overview/purpose: Occhipinti and Colombini (1996) developed the occupational repetitive action (OCRA) methods to analyze workers' exposure to tasks featuring various upper-limb injury risk factors (repetitiveness, force, awkward postures and movements, lack of recovery periods, and others, defined as " additionals "). The OCRA methods are largely based on a consensus document of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) technical committee on musculoskeletal disorders (Colombini et al., 2001), and they generate synthetic indicators that also consider worker rotation among different tasks. The OCRA index can be predictive of the risk of upper extremity (UE) work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in exposed populations. The OCRA index was the first, most analytical, and most reliable method developed. It is generally used for the (re)design or in-depth analysis of workstations and tasks (Colombini et al., 1998, 2002). The OCRA checklist, based on the OCRA index, is simpler to apply and is generally recommended for the initial screening of workstations featuring repetitive tasks (Colombini et al., 2001, 2002). It has to be added that the current OCRA method forms the basis for two technical standards currently being developed by CEN (pr EN 1005-5) and ISO (ISO DIS 11128-3). In EN 1005-5 OCRA is the method of choice. ISO 11228-3 chose OCRA as the preferred method for detailed risk assessment because it considers all the relevant risk factors, is also applicable to " multitask jobs " , and provides criteria — based on extensive epidemiological data — for forecasting the occurrence
2012, Work (Reading, Mass.)
Since 2008 Fiat Group Automobiles has introduced Ergo-UAS system for the balancing of production lines and to detect ergonomic issues. Ergo-UAS system integrates 2 specific methods: MTM-UAS for time measurement and EAWS as ergonomic method to evaluate biomechanical effort for each workstation. Fiat is using a software system to manage time evaluation and ergo characterization of production cycle (UAS) to perform line balancing and obtain allowance factor in all Italian car manufacturing plant. For new car models, starting from New Panda, FGA is applying Ergo-UAS for workplace design since the earliest phase of product development. This means that workplace design is based on information about new product, new layout, new work organization and is performed by a multidisciplinary team (Work Place Integration Team), focusing on several aspects of product and process: safety, quality and productivity. This allows to find and solve ergonomic threats before the start of production, by mea...
Purpose: The aim of this work consists in developing a design methodology for preventive ergonomics and comfort analyses of Human-Machine-Interface (HMI).Design/methodology/approach: Our method is based on the simulation of the main posture that a digital human model (a manikin representing, for example, a car’s driver) takes while using a machine (in this work, driving a car), in order to judge human safety and comfort during interaction with dashboard, instruments’ panel, levers and other commands. The ergonomic analyses are made using an appropriately modified OCRA (Occupational Repetitive Actions Index) protocol, in order to evaluate different involvement degrees of upper limb segments in comfort action range.Findings: The three-F principle -Human fit, form and function- is becoming the most addressed guideline for improvement and appeal-increasing of product in the current demanding global marketplace. Our work uses modern technologies and new design methods, developed by our r...
2013, Applied Mechanics and Materials
Main purpose of this work is to show how easy and economics an ergonomic/comfort based approach, in re-design a manual assembly workplace, can be; authors, using a new comfort/ergonomic evaluation criterion, analyzed a workstation and identified the critical issues under ergonomic/comfort point of view and finally gave several guidelines to re-design the workplace, implementing minor modification, and improve work-safety, work-quality and productivity. The postural analysis was performed by non-invasive and especially inexpensive methods, based on cameras and video-recorder use and by photogrammetric analysis; DELMIA® DHM software has been used to perform all simulations; comfort analysis was performed by the software developed by researchers of Departments of Industrial Engineering of Salerno: CaMAN®. The test case is an automatic assembly machine that has been modeled and used for virtual postural analysis. Main results of this work can be found in a very good numerical/experiment...
2011
Citation/Export MLA C.Vijayakumar, T.Vignesha, A.Murugesan, N.Bavana, “Effect of Erroneous In Ergonomics and Its Remedies to Workers in Industries-A Literature Survey”, January 15 Volume 3 Issue 1 , International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication (IJRITCC), ISSN: 2321-8169, PP: 368 - 377, DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150174 APA C.Vijayakumar, T.Vignesha, A.Murugesan, N.Bavana, January 15 Volume 3 Issue 1, “Effect of Erroneous In Ergonomics and Its Remedies to Workers in Industries-A Literature Survey”, International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication (IJRITCC), ISSN: 2321-8169, PP: 368 - 377, DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150174
2019, Sensors
Risks of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders are not well investigated in farmers. This study performed risk assessment in some farms in Italy (Tuscany, Piedmont and Marches). To obtain an exposure index in vine–growing and in peach cultivation, we previously analysed work organization recording all the tasks. Then we performed the analysis using the OCRA checklist. In both cultivations, task analysis showed an intrinsic high risk. The aim of this study is to define alternative analytical methods to establish the cumulative exposure level to agricultural work tasks typical of an annual distribution, given that quality and duration of the work depend on the month. The first survey results, though still preliminary and concerning a small case-report, evidenced that two of the alternative analytical methods proposed show a good association between high values of the OCRA check list and the development of musculoskeletal disorders. The future objective of the research (once more e...
2017, XVII International Scientific Conference on Industrial Systems IS'17
Performance of assembly lines require meeting conflictual goals: a high production rate and a high level of flexibility. Flexibility is often provided by human dexterity and the cognitive capabilities of the workforce. In the case of repetitive manual tasks, workers are exposed to the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). In these contexts, a high production rate leads to high physical workload, and job rotation is adopted in order to reduce the ergonomic risk. The problem is of particular interest in the view of the workforce aging, a social European phenomenon which is also affecting production systems performance. Designing and scheduling of human-based assembly systems require a joint evaluation of production system performance and a good balancing of MSDs risk among workers. The authors propose a mixed integer non linear programming model allowing for the balancing of MSDs risk while meeting production rate of an assembly line. Risk and its acceptability are evaluated using the RULA method (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment), widely recognized as an effective tool for the risk assessment of Upper Limb Work related MSDs (UL-WMSDs). Different workers' performance due to their respective training levels / skills and age is considered in the problem formulation. Results show the model's capacity to identify optimal job rotation schedules jointly achieving productivity and ergonomic risk goals. Performances of the solutions obtained improve as workforce flexibility increases.
2018, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, vol. 9, no. 3, Pag. 129-138
In today's economic context the workforce is a crucial asset in manufacturing industries. The employee performance and productivity are affected by many factors related on one hand to the line efficiency and, on the other hand, to the well-being of the workers. On the basis of new technologies and driven by Industry 4.0 paradigms, the need of a high production rate cannot neglect the safeguarding of the workers. In case of repetitive manual tasks, workers are exposed to the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), that can be reduced by applying ergonomics principles both in design (e.g. workstation design, equipment tools identification, etc.) and in operative phases (e.g. workload balance, tasks assignment, etc.). In the operative phase, job rotation is one of the most widespread methods for alleviating physical fatigue and reducing the stress due to repetitive tasks. However, often, job rotation strategies fail due to the lack of systematic approach or effective management of rotation schedules, being very difficult to identify an effective job rotation schedule allowing maintaining the same productivity rate. The problem is of particular interest under the perspective of the workforce aging, a social European phenomenon which is also affecting production systems performance. Designing and scheduling of human-based assembly systems require a joint evaluation of production system performance and a good balancing of MSDs risk among workers. The authors proposed a model for minimizing the exposure risk of workers involved in repetitive manual tasks, by balancing the human workloads and reducing the ergonomic risk within acceptable limits, for a given production target. Risk and its acceptability are evaluated using the RULA method, according to a mixed integer programming approach. Results shown the effectiveness of the model to identify the optimal job rotation schedules jointly achieving productivity and ergonomic risk goals.
BMJ Open
ObjectiveBrazil is the world’s second largest poultry meat producer and leading exporter. Many poultry processing tasks are physically demanding and involve factors that increase the risk of developing a work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD). However, little is known about the assessment of bodily discomfort in these workers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between perception of bodily discomfort and individual and work organisational factors in poultry slaughterhouse workers.DesignDescriptive, cross-sectional study.SettingThree poultry slaughterhouses in the South of Brazil.ParticipantsThis paper included 925 workers of 3 poultry slaughterhouses, 575 women and 350 men. The selection of the participants was random.Main outcome measureWorkers were asked about individual factors, work organiation, perception of bodily discomfort and cold, as well as ingestion of pain medication. Crude and adjusted ORs were estimated and 95% CIs were derived from binary log...
2008, Acta of Bioengineering and …
2012, Work (Reading, Mass.)
International standards highlight the steps required by risk assessment and involving first hazard identification, then risk evaluation and finally, if necessary, risk assessment. To check approach appropriateness to "risk evaluation" from manual patient handling through MAPO, a cross study was carried out in view of checking relationship between this new risk assessment model and occurrence of acute low back pain. After proper training the MAPO screening method was assessed in 31 wards, 411 exposed subjects of geriatric hospitals. At the same time health data were collected on occurrence of low back pain episodes during the last year both in the exposed subjects' group and the external reference group (n�237). Risk and clinical assessment data were tutored and checked by EPM research unit. The logistic analysis was used as a method to evaluate the relationship between risk index and acute low back pain. Investigating relationship between acute low back pain episodes a...
The herbaceous grafting in horticulture is a practice widely spread and permits to unite the quality and productivity characteristics with those of resistance to pathology transmitted from the soil, much more quickly as regards the time necessary for genetic improvement. There are different methods of grafting (crown, cleft, etc.), especially used by skilled workers with the help of manual tools such as the grafting knife. Grafting work requires an effort of upper limbs, owing to the great number of repetitive movements and the precision required to cut the grafting sections. The above mentioned situation a risk for workers who operate about six hours a day in these conditions. The risk may involve some pathologies, generally of different origin (such as wrist and shoulder tendinitis, lateral epicondylitis, carpal tunnel etc.), defined as "work related musculo-skeletal disorders" (WMSDs). The Aim of present research is to assess the risk of musculo-skeletal disorders due t...
2017, Pressacademia
2020, 17, 2
The incidence and prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders are currently one of the most important challenges to the mining sector. This paper proposes a procedure to prevent these diseases based on the active participation of workers. The procedure is structured in four stages: hazard identification, risk assessment, proposed improvements, and implementation and follow-up. To support the application of the procedure, a set of ergonomic methods and tools appropriate for mining work are outlined. The main results of the application of the procedure to an underground mine in Peru demonstrate its practical value, as well as its usefulness in improving working conditions and creating a preventive culture. The proposed procedure is expected to serve as a reference in the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in mining works. RESUMEN La incidencia y prevalencia de los desórdenes musculoesqueléticos de origen laboral es en la actualidad uno de los desafíos más importantes que enfrenta el sector minero. En este trabajo se propone un procedimiento para prevenir estas enfermedades, sustentado en la participación activa de los trabajadores. El procedimiento quedó estructurado en cuatro etapas: identificación de peligros, evaluación de riesgo, propuesta de las mejoras e implementación y seguimiento. Para apoyar la aplicación del procedimiento fueron propuestos un conjunto de métodos y herramientas ergonómicas apropiados para los trabajos de minería. Se muestran los principales resultados de la aplicación del procedimiento en una mina subterránea de Perú, lo que evidencia el valor práctico de este, así como su utilidad en la mejora de las condiciones de trabajo y en la creación de una cultura preventiva. Se espera que el procedimiento propuesto sirva de referencia en la prevención de los desórdenes musculoesqueléticos en trabajos de minería.
2017
This study aimed at an evaluation of the working postures in loading the sapling pots on to tractors and loading the saplings to be transported on to trucks in the forest nurseries by means of the Revised Lifting Equation (NIOSH) ergonomic risk assessment method. Under this study, we camera-recorded the works we examined in the Trabzon-Of forest nursery thoroughly and determined the working posture types of workers in the footage. We weighed the load (L) that workers carried manually, and scaled the values such as horizontal position (H), vertical position (V), vertical carrying distance (D) and asymmetry angle (A) on workers. We put the data obtained into the interface of NIOSH ergonomic risk assessment method in the ErgoFellow software and calculated the values of lifting index (LI) for both works. These evaluations provided us with the LI values of the works of loading the pots on to the tractors and loading the saplings on to the trucks as 0,54 and 0,35 respectively. In both loa...
2014, Indian Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine
Background: Work‑related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are responsible for morbidity in many working populations. Apart from lowering the quality of workers’ life and reducing the productivity, WMSDs are the most expensive form of work disability, attributing to about 40% of all costs toward the treatment of work‑related injuries. WMSDs are considered to be multifactorials that are caused due to the interactions between various risk factors, which result in conditions that vary across different occupations. Although health care profession is known to be at a high risk for WMSDs, it is one of the least‑studied occupations. Most of the previous studies on WMSDs among health care workers were limited to any one of the professional groups such as nurses, physical therapists, dentists, and others. Hence this study was aimed at looking into the WMSDs affecting five different health care professionals working in a tertiary care hospital. It compared the prevalence and distribution of WMSDs among the five groups, evaluated the multiple risk factors that contribute to the development of WMSDs, and identified the high‑risk group. Materials and Methods: It was a cross‑sectional study conducted among dentists, laboratory technicians, nurses, physicians, and physiotherapists of various clinical departments in a tertiary care hospital in Chennai, India, from January to June 2013. Face‑to‑face interviews as well as observational analysis of various tasks were employed. Different combinations of validated and standardized questionnaires were used for collecting different types of data. Results: A high proportion of health care professionals reported WMSDs at one or the other body region, lower back being the most commonly affected area. Working in the same position for long periods, working in awkward or cramped positions and handling an excessive number of patients or samples in one day were found to be the most commonly reported job risk factor that contributed to the development of WMSDs, in this study. Conclusion: Among all the health care professionals assessed in this study, nurses were found to be at the highest risk, whereas physicians were at the lowest risk. A longitudinal study using quantitative analytical tools may give a more accurate estimate of WMSDs and job risk factors, which would pave way for making more precise recommendations to eliminate the risk factors and thereby prevent WMSDs. Key words: Health care professionals, risk factors, WMSDs
2000, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics
2016, Applied Ergonomics