A calculation model for ergonomics cost-benefit analyses in early product development stages

Paper in proceeding, 2012

Increasing international competition between companies has put high focus on cost-cutting actions at all levels in companies and organizations. In product development there are many design requirements to meet and often tough project budgets to keep. Requirements that are considered not profitable will often be neglected, which often affects assembly ergonomics. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the relationship between ergonomics, assembly related quality errors and associated costs and develop a cost-beneficial assessment model. The results showed that ergonomics high risk issues had 5-8 times as many quality errors as low risk issues and the earlier risk issues were found the less were the action costs. A model for cost-benefit analyses was developed based on the obtained quality data.