Body postures versus production requirements - the case of a fiberglass parts factory

This study aimed to perform an ergonomic analysis in a fiberglass parts factory. For this purpose, was used the methodology of Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA). At the end of the study it was possible to identify some ways to the development of improvements in order to contribute to the transformation of working conditions in the sector analyzed.     

Recovery and detachment between shifts, and fatigue during a twelve-hour shift

The study investigated the role of recovery and detachment in the break period between two shifts for fatigue in the current shift. A time-based paper-and-pencil diary study was carried out observing sixty-four railway controllers over ten consecutive working shifts. The results demonstrated that fatigue in the current shift was not only affected by recovery and psychological detachment during break phases before a shift, but also by fatigue at shift onset and perceived workload during the shift.     

Virtual reality based therapy for post operative rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy

Virtual reality is the use of interactive replication created with computer hardware and software to impart users with opportunities to engage in environments that appear to feel similar to real world objects and events. The commonest rehabilitation program of cerebral palsy children involves stretching, strengthening, mobilization and various other activities, whereas the use of virtual reality based training (VRBT) for rehabilitation of cerebral palsy is not common. To understand the effect of VRBT a study was formulated. Twenty nine subjects participated (study group--14 and control group--15). Outcome measures were MACS, PBS, level of participation, motivation, cooperation and satisfaction of the child. Results revealed that balance and manual ability were significantly improved in both the groups (Balance: study: t-2.28, p<0.05; control: t-3.5, p<0.01; Manual ability: study: t-5.58, p<0.001; control: t-7.06, p<0.001). PBS had significantly greater improvement in the study group (t-t-2.02, p<0.05). Level of participation, motivation, cooperation and satisfaction of the child were also reported to be significantly higher among the study group as compared with control group. To the author's best knowledge, this is the first study on using the VR-based therapy for the postoperative rehabilitation of children with CP which need further elaboration with larger sample size.     

How to evaluate the risks of work equipment and installations for health and safety? Research and activities of the German Committee for Plant Safety and consequences for regulation

Work equipment and installations with a high risk for health and safety of employees should be paid a special attention. The German Product Safety Act, which is aimed to manufacturers or distributors in order to protect consumers, maintains a conclusive catalogue of these so-called "installations in need of monitoring" fixing the work equipment and installations for which such special inspections can be demanded. This catalogue has remained unchanged for decades and has been transformed nearly unmodified into the Plant Safety Ordinance. Currently, there is a discussion about this catalogue in Germany. A major point of concern is the definition and the significance of "especially" dangerous work equipment and installations. Two recent research projects are dealing with the problem how to define "especially".     

Reducing whole body vibration in forklift drivers

Forklift drivers in warehouses are often exposed to whole body vibration (WBV) during the total day. There is however an association between working as a forklift operator and the development of low back pain. In this study the exposure to WBV was measured in five forklift drivers who performed a standardised order picking task during 10 minutes. The effect of driving surface (uneven concrete vs. new flat concrete), driving speed (15 km/h vs. 8 km/h) and seat suspension (mechanical suspension vs. air suspension) was investigated. Improving the driving surface was the most effective preventive measure by reducing the whole body vibration with 39%, from 1.14 to 0.69 m/s2. Lowering the speed limit resulted in a reduction of WBV with 26% (1.05 vs. 0.78 m/s2). An air suspension seat was 22% more effective compared to mechanical suspension (1.02 vs. 0.80 m/s2). On uneven concrete an air suspension seat performed even better by reducing the WBV by 29% (1.33 vs. 0.95 m/s2). A combination of a new driving surface, limiting the maximum speed and the introduction of an air suspension seat reduced the whole body vibrations below the action limit of 0.5 m/s2 as mentioned in the European directive. None of the interventions were effective enough on their own.     

Prevention of MSD within OHSMS/IMS: a systematic review of risk assessment strategies

The purpose of this systematic review was to identify and summarize the research evidence on prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) within Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) and Integrated Management Systems (IMS). Databases in business, management, engineering and health and safety were systematically searched and relevant publications were synthesized. The number of papers that could address the research questions was small. However, the review revealed that many of the techniques to address MSD hazards require substantial background knowledge and training. This may limit employees' involvement in the technical aspects of the risk assessment process. Also these techniques did not usually fit into techniques used by companies to address other risk factors within their management systems. This could result in MSD prevention becoming a separate issue that cannot be managed with company-wide tools. In addition, this review also suggested that there is a research gap concerning the MSD prevention within companies' management systems.     

Influence of door handles design in effort perception: accessibility and usability

The application of ergonomics in product design is essential to its accessibility and usability. The development of manual devices should be based on ergonomic principles. Effort perception analysis is an essential approach to understand the physical and subjective aspects of the interface. The objective of the present study was to analyze the effort perception during a simulated task with different door handles by Portuguese subjects of both genders and different ages. This transversal study agreed with ethical aspects. 180 subjects of both genders pertaining to three age groups have participated. Five door handles with different shapes were evaluated. A subjective numeric rating scale of 5 levels was used to evaluate the effort. For statistical analysis it was applied the Friedman non-parametric test. The results have showed no significant differences of effort perception in door handles "A" and "B"; "A" and "D"; and "D" and "C". Door handle "E" presented the lowest values of all. In general, there's an inverse relationship between the results of biomechanical studies and the effort perception of the same task activity. This shows that door handles design influence directly these two variables and can interfere in the accessibility and usability of these kinds of products.     

Designing dynamic distributed cooperative Human-Machine Systems

The paper presents a new approach to the development of cooperative human-machine systems in the Transportation domain which is currently researched in the European project D3CoS. A necessary precondition for the acceptance of cooperative human-machine systems with shared control is the confidence and trust of the user into the system. D3CoS tackles this important issue by addressing the cooperative system as the object and the target of the system development process. This new perspective, along with corresponding innovative methods, techniques and tools, shall allow the identification of optimal task and authority sharing approaches supported by intuitive human-machine interaction and user interfaces at an early stage of system development. This will support powerful teamwork between humans and machines or between machines and machines that is transparent, intuitive and easy to understand. The paper describes the research dimensions for the development of the methods, techniques and tools as well as first results.     

How to reduce workload--augmented reality to ease the work of air traffic controllers

In the future the air traffic will rise--the workload of the controllers will do the same. In the BMWi research project, one of the tasks is, how to ensure safe air traffic, and a reasonable workload for the air traffic controllers. In this project it was the goal to find ways how to reduce the workload (and stress) for the controllers to allow safe air traffic, esp. at huge hub-airports by implementing augmented reality visualization and interaction.