Ergonomic risk assessment in DHM tools employing motion data - exposure calculation and comparison to epidemiological reference data
Journal article, 2018
Digital human modelling (DHM) allows ergonomic risk assessment to be performed at early stages of design and development. Such assessment is
typically based on observational methods, which do not take advantage of the potential of DHM tools to provide precise posture and motion data. This paper describes and illustrates an alternative assessment approach employing DHM tools, inspired by risk assessment based on direct measurements. A literature survey established a reference database of epidemiological associations between exposure and wrist-related disorders. This approach is illustrated by a DHM simulation of a car assembly task. Wrist posture and motion were simulated and compared to the database, predicting the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders on the basis of direct measurements.
typically based on observational methods, which do not take advantage of the potential of DHM tools to provide precise posture and motion data. This paper describes and illustrates an alternative assessment approach employing DHM tools, inspired by risk assessment based on direct measurements. A literature survey established a reference database of epidemiological associations between exposure and wrist-related disorders. This approach is illustrated by a DHM simulation of a car assembly task. Wrist posture and motion were simulated and compared to the database, predicting the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders on the basis of direct measurements.
work-related musculoskeletal disorders
wrist
digital human modelling
direct measurements
exposure-response relationship
repetitive strain injuries
physical workload
risk assessment
biomechanical load
Author
Ida-Märta Rhen
Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Production Systems
Mikael Forsman
Karolinska Institutet
Roland Örtengren
Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Production Systems
Dan Högberg
University of Skövde
Ali Keyvani
Virtual Manufacturing Sweden AB
Dan Lämkull
Volvo Cars
Lars Hanson
University of Skövde
Scania CV AB
Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Production Systems
International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation
Vol. 6 1
Subject Categories
Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics
Environmental Health and Occupational Health
DOI
10.1504/IJHFMS.2018.091356