On the Development of a Time-Sensitive Ergonomics Evaluation Method

Paper in proceeding, 2007

Abstract As part of a research project with focus on ergonomics evaluation, a video-observation study of manual car assembly work was carried out. Rather than presenting the study results as hard data for further development, this paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using 'static' evaluation methods to rate and acknowledge accumulated physical load. In the study, RULA was used at five-second intervals as an unbiased discrete evaluation method with no specifically selected ‘target’ postures. The paper aims to discuss the scope of what a new time-sensitive method needs to accomplish, in order to be ready for the capabilities of dynamic human simulation.