Due to safety requirements for Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), industrial robots have to meet high standards of safety requirements (ISO 10218). However, even if robots are incapable of causing serious physical harm, they still may influence people's mental and emotional wellbeing, as well as their trust, behaviour and performance in close collaboration. This work uses an HTC Vive Virtual Reality headset

In product handle ergonomic design optimisation researchers focused mainly on the size and shape of the handles; however, interface handle materials have been neglected despite showing potential to improve ergonomics. Deformable elastic cellular meta-materials with pre-engineered mechanical response based on the biomechanical evaluation of human hand soft tissue during grasping were designed and manufactured

Occupations that involve prolonged periods of standing and maintaining an upright posture are associated with an increased risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD), particularly of the lower back and lower extremities. Identifying factors that impact WMSD is therefore important, but the foot and footwear have been largely ignored to date. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence

In India, the manual brick making process is physical demanding jobs where millions of workers earn their livelihood. The study attempts to improve the organization of the work in brick manufacturing units and makes operations for the betterment and enhances its productivity. Observation studies and posture analysis were performed among them by the OWAS method. A detailed plan and time study were done

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) have a high impact on the health of dual role workers (student and work). The aim of this study was to analyse risk factor (active pauses and job position) associated with MSD in postgraduate students, Bogotá 2016. This Cross-sectional study was conducted in a random sample of 304 college graduate students and statistical analysis in SPSS version 24. We found that significant

The study objectives include: 1) to identify the visual key areas and the learning curves when learning the ASL alphabet, 2) to identify the impact of practice on key visual areas, and 3) to identify differences in visual learning curves between signs. An empirical behavioral study with twenty ASL untrained hearing participants performing the ASL alphabet for eight consecutive trials using virtual

The performance shaping factors (PSFs) of the standardized plant analysis of risk-human reliability analysis (SPAR-H) method are unclearly defined, which contributes to the uncertainty of human reliability analysis (HRA) in nuclear power plants (NPPs). This work proposes an expert-based modification approach for redefining the PSFs based on four criteria in terms of less overlap, hierarchy, flexibility

Background Agricultural pilots fly inside rural areas, usually, in runways without proper maintenance. Neglected runway maintenance contributes to increased exposure to shocks and vibrations. On the other hand, during cruise and spraying, the pilot is not exposed to the effect of the runway surface, and thus the exposure may be different. Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the factors

Civil aircraft cabin comfort is a significant consideration for travelers when selecting an airline. Based on questionnaires, this study developed an assessment method that identified the indicators of cabin-comfort dissatisfaction and determined the degrees of dissatisfaction. Questionnaires were distributed to passengers traveling on Chinese airlines, and the data were processed using an assessment

Previous literature reported that Participatory Design (PD) results in satisfying products and presents other subjective benefits. PD implies an active involvement of users during all steps of the design process, including during concepts specification (contrary to user-centered design, UCD). This study compared the usability and acceptance of truck dashboards resulting either from a PD or from a UCD

Work shoe soles are a useful tool for decreasing the amplitude of vibration transmissibility to the human body for subjects exposed to foot-transmitted vibration (FTV) in the workplace. The main objective of this paper is to identify the viscoelastic safe area of work shoe soles in the sitting posture using a biomechanical model. To identify the model parameters, twelve young males participated in

Introduction Playing an instrument could lead to various disorders and several musicians report problems during their career. As there is no existing one, the aim of this study was to build a comprehensive model of injury prevention and risk factors in musicians by combining literature with interviews of musicians and experts. Methods The initial model has been based on literature. This model identified

Assembly workers using handheld powered tightening tools are repetitively subjected to reaction loads resulting from the tool handle. Despite the vast amount of research, tool manufacturers and OSH practitioners still lack well-grounded recommendations and benchmarks for ergonomics evaluations of reaction loads. This review provides an overview of research investigating reaction loads and operator

Progress indicators act as a status indicator for the visual response process, which in turn has a significant impact on human-computer interaction. We often see ring type and bar type progress indicators in our daily life, but how does one choose the appropriately shaped design? This study uses two experiments to answer the above question, with the aim of maximizing the quality of the user experience

Medical gloves have a direct effect on the safety of clinical staff and patients as well as optimal performance. Thus, it is necessary to identify the quantitative impact of gloves on hand performance indicators. This study aimed to investigate the effect of medical gloves on manual performance. This study was conducted on 40 hospital clinical staff. The participants’ dexterity, tactile sensitivity

Fault diagnosis is a key process in ensuring complex engineering system safety. It often requires collaborative and multidisciplinary efforts. This study seeks to understand the process of multidisciplinary fault diagnosis in complex engineering systems and the key human factors issues that impair this process. Data were collected from multidisciplinary diagnostic activities conducted in the commissioning

Forest vehicle operators are occupationally exposed to combined hazards such as noise, whole-body vibration(WBV), adverse microclimate, and carbon monoxide. Such combined exposures may not only increase the risk of accidents but they may also have some synergized effects on the developments of major occupational diseases of the workers, which have been among the major concerns of the occupational safety

Glass artware manufacturing activities are highly repetitive, labor-intensive, and demand prolonged standing during the working shift. This leads to the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) symptoms among the workers. However, there is a scarce of study on the prevalence of MSDs symptoms and their associated risk factors among the glass artware workers. To address this research gap, this

Background and aim Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has been associated with sick leave, decreased work productivity and poor quality of life. Another possible cause for the development of GERD is the relationship with maintaining the posture in flexion of the spine. The aim of this study was: (1) to compare gastro esophageal reflux with musculoskeletal disorders and quality of life of dentists

The difficulty in opening and closing the tailgate of sport utility vehicles (SUV) is important as one of the items of JD power’s Initial Quality Study (IQS). This study aimed to evaluate the perceived exertion and satisfaction in opening and closing SUV tailgates and explain them with the mechanical force. The study measured the mechanical open and close force for 33 SUV tailgates and evaluated perceived

Posture quantification is important for analyzing trunk and upper extremity loading and estimating the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This study introduced an inertial measurement unit sensor-based posture-matching (ISPM) method. The ISPM method is the concept that involves observers wearing sensors and simulating postures in photos or videos obtained at job sites to assess the postural

Traditional methods for assessing the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have a low sensitivity to changes in input variables. Using them, it is possible to obtain the same risk score for totally different postures, and in some cases, the effectiveness of ergonomic interventions cannot be demonstrated. This study aimed to develop a new scoring system for REBA, FBnREBA, using fuzzy

During pregnancy, changes in physical function, such as increases in the mass and volume of the abdomen, affect spinal alignment and the postural control system. Pregnant women often experience changes in motion patterns, as well as an increased risk of falling, during routine tasks such as rising from a chair and carrying objects. The present study aimed to analyze changes in motion patterns among

Motor performance patterns for mechanical assistance on unilateral force control can be affected by simultaneous muscle contraction. This study investigated how muscle activity and motor performance during the cooperation between dominant-arm force control and assistive force are affected by simultaneous non-dominant arm muscle contraction with inertial loading. Eleven participants (age: 24.1 ± 1.7

This study investigated muscle activity and discomfort of the upper limb as a function of weight distributions in a handle of a cordless stick-type vacuum cleaner. Seventeen female college students with the experience of vacuum cleaner-use were recruited for testing. Handle mock-ups with five different centers of mass (top front, top rear, bottom front, bottom rear, and center) were manufactured, and

Pepper spray is widely used in the US, and is marketed as an effective self-defense device. While pepper spray can be useful in deterring an attacker, many pepper spray owners do not have any experience using it. There is a dearth of published studies that focus on civilian pepper-spray use, not to mention first time pepper-spray users. A study to analyze pepper-spray designs with first-time users

Muscle fatigue is a significant cause of musculoskeletal injury and can easily induce unsafe behaviour. Push-type work is a common type of physical work, and if not designed appropriately, may lead to muscle fatigue. Previous studies on muscle fatigue mainly focus on investigating continuous force exertion, and in most of them, a constant muscle force is assumed, thereby ignoring the fluctuations present

Fatigue is a common and highly prevalent problem among workers. Muscle fatigue is the result of general fatigue that is caused due to demographical, physical, psychosocial, and environmental risk factors. This research was conducted to review the literature on the relationship between environmental risk factors and muscle fatigue. Forty papers that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed. Based on

As an index for many adverse health outcomes, normative values on handgrip strength are established for many populations. The aim of this study was to establish handgrip strength (HGS) norms for the Iranian population and to compare them with other existing norms. Related variables affecting HGS were also determined in order to provide appropriate prediction models. The sample consisted of 4282 Iranian

The manual brick making process is a physically demanding job with a high risk of work-related injuries. Prevalence of work-related injuries (17.55%) occurs frequently in manual brick making activities due to inherently hazardous nature. This study analyzes 451 recordable incidents that occurred over a period of 7 years (2011–2017) among 220 male and 180 female workers in a different brickfield of

Approximately 1.6 million commercial construction workers in the US use rotary hammer drills for drilling into concrete to insert anchor bolts or rebar. The exposure to vibration may lead to hand-arm vibration syndrome and other musculoskeletal disorders depending on handle vibration acceleration level, hand grip force, and duration of exposure. There is little information on the relationship between

Emotions always play an important role in users' experience and performance. However, not many studies have attempted to investigate the user emotional experience through fully considering the related sensory interactions. To address this gap, this study aims to provide a multi-sensory user experiment approach to evaluate user emotional experience on bicycle saddles. For this purpose, two semantic

The objective of this study was to build a scale of musculoskeletal discomfort for the upper body of footwear industry workers. The self-reported symptoms of 1821 workers were analyzed via exploratory factor analysis and item response theory. The anatomical regions located in the upper body showed ability to discriminate workers with different levels of musculoskeletal discomfort. A scale with six

Background Home, public transport, work, the number of environmental positions constraining the use of smartphones is significant. Research question How can the presence of an upper limb support influence the sitting posture of smartphone users under fixed illumination and brightness? Methods Twelve subjects (21,6 ± 5,5 years old) performed web browsing under two environmental positions (POSITION):

Unsafe behaviors, including both errors and violations, have been identified as key contributors to accidents at nuclear power plants. However, the mechanisms behind such unsafe behaviors are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate how workers' attitude and perception factors would predict errors and violations at nuclear power plants by proposing and validating an unsafe behavior model

Objective There is limited work on the physiological demands of lifting activities at different altitudes and different lifting frequencies when wearing different types of shoes. This study aimed to examine the heart rate variability (HRV) and ventilation responses of individuals in normobaric hypoxia (ambient oxygen of 15%, 18%, and 21%) while doing lifting tasks and wearing three types of different

The potential benefits of autonomous vehicles, including safety, convenience, fuel economy, and low emissions can only be achieved when consumers are comfortable with the vehicle design. There are only a limited number of user studies in the design of future autonomous vehicles, owing to the difficulties of shifting focus “from the present to the future.” An integrated method of simulator study and

In the early stage of product design, it is important for maintainability design to evaluate accurate and efficient maintenance time by using the virtual simulation technology. However, the difference between the virtual world and reality results in inaccurate estimation of the maintenance time. Besides, few characteristics of the maintenance tasks and actions are considered, leading to a large estimation

Engaging in distractive behaviors while driving is common worldwide, despite its proven negative impact on driving safety. The current study aimed to investigate the ability of drivers' compensatory beliefs regarding distracted driving (i.e., the belief that the negative effects of an unsafe behavior can be “neutralized” by engaging in another safe behavior; e.g., “slowing down can compensate for the

The efficiency of suspension seat can be influenced by several factors such as the input vibration, the dynamic characteristics of the seat and the dynamic characteristics of the human body. The objective of this paper is to study the effect of sitting postures and vibration magnitude on the vibration transmissibility of a suspension system of an agricultural tractor seat. Eleven (11) healthy male

Several occupational groups are exposed to periods of low ambient temperatures while performing manual work tasks outdoors. Work tasks typically include heavy lifting, tool handling, and overhead work. This study evaluated the effect of working position and cold environment on muscle activation level (%RMSmax) and fatigue in the upper limb during manual work tasks. Fourteen male participants (25 ± 3

Despite the promising impact that exoskeletons might have on reducing MSDs, on-farm investigations of exoskeletons are limited. This study explored farmers' perceptions of the feasibility and practicality of exoskeleton use in Canadian prairie grain and livestock farm operations. Fifteen farm workers (age 25–70 years) used a passive back-supporting exoskeleton during standardized and unique tasks at

The facial fit of respirators is crucial for determining how effectively respirators may protect users from exposure to airborne contaminants, when their use is required in the workplace. In the Chilean market, all the respirators available have been designed and manufactured using foreign regulations. The aim of this research was to determine the facial dimensions in a sample of Chilean workers (users

Introduction Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are the major causes of lost workdays, increased costs, and occupational diseases in all countries. The prevalence of WMSDs among the workers in small and medium-sized enterprises in Iran was reported as 73%. This paper aimed to describe the design of an interventional study to investigate the effects of ergonomic interventions on work-related

Background Eye-movement metrics and subjective workload measures are extensively used to determine mental workload of participants. The aim of this study was to assess Electric overhead travelling (EOT) crane operators’ mental workload variability based on eye movement metrics such as fixation frequency, fixation duration, saccade duration, saccade amplitude, and fixation/saccade ratio during EOT crane

The increasing technological evolution in hospitals, combined with stressful and burdensome working conditions causes distress in nursing professionals. These elements suggest an increase in the physiological workload of workers in this service. This paper aims to identify the parameters or variables used to estimate the physiological workload of dynamic tasks in hospital workers, as well as the methods

Awkward shoulder postures have been suggested to be a cause of shoulder discomfort among bakery workers. This study aimed at long-duration assessment of upper arms posture and motion and their association with perceived symptoms among bakery workers. Among workers in three types of bread systems, fifty-seven bakers were randomly selected. The self-reported rates for the perceived severity and frequency

Home environments are the most common injury locations of the elderly. This study aimed to determine measures of anthropometric norms among study subjects and correspondingly translate into recommendations for elderly home design in Thailand. Two-hundred and forty elderly subjects from Prom Buri district, Sing Buri province, Thailand, were targeted for study inclusion by cross-sectional survey using

Although smartphones are used as essential devices in everyday life, many users are exposed to joint diseases owing to prolonged use. The objectives of this study were to analyze how posture and smartphone tasks affect various body flexion angles and develop an algorithm to classify posture/task and estimate body flexion angles using smartphone tilt data. Eighteen participants performed two tasks (playing

Technological advances available in wood harvesting machines have provided productivity improvements and more comfort in forestry operations. However, operators may be exposed to whole-body vibration which can lead to a wide variety of health disorders and industry losses. This research aimed to evaluate the exposure of workers to whole-body vibration in thinning harvesting operations comparing two

This study administered the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire to a convenience sample of 106 workers at custom-beverage vendors in Taiwan (who prepare drinks through manual shaking) to explore their work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and identify risk factors for these disorders symptoms. Wrist posture for twenty workers were also measured for three shaking methods using an electrogoniometer

Wearing helmets has reduced the risk of head and facial injury among cricketers. Yet, design gaps are present in the cricket helmets currently being used. The aim of this research was to identify the shortcomings and user requirements pertinent to safety and usability of cricket helmets. The objectives were to explore the design criteria and the drawbacks of state-of-the-art cricket helmets, to identify

Lot-sizing models play an important role in optimizing the performance of internal logistics systems that involve a large amount of manual material handling (MMH) tasks. The performance of MMH tasks should be assessed using multiple criteria rather than being merely cost-oriented, considering the fact that the lot size affects the workload and can result in work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs)

Manual punching of plastic mulch is costly and time-consuming for many vegetable growers in China. However, existing punchers are not well-suited for different soil environments. This study aims to improve the efficiency of punching work, reduce labor cost, and alleviate workers' fatigue based on different soil moistures. A new puncher was designed for manual punching and four groups of experiments

Traditionally, driver distraction has been categorized into four types: visual, biomechanical, auditory, and cognitive. However, the place of emotion in driving research is largely undefined. The present study investigates the specific influences of anger – representative emotion arisen while driving, on driving performance, compared to those of traditional distraction tasks. In total, seventy-eight

This study aims to assess the effects of repetitive motion-induced fatigue during manual packaging on kinematics and muscle activity of the arm, back and shoulder. Eighteen participants performed a 60-min manual packaging task. Electromyography median frequency of RUT, RES, LES and RB decreased by 13.2% (p < 0.05), 12.8% (p < 0.05), 11.3% (p < 0.05) and 21% (p < 0.001), respectively over time. The

The objective of this study is to determine if wearable inertial-magnetic tracking systems can be suitably used to conduct full-body motion analysis when performing common tasks in the automotive manufacturing industry. Twenty unimpaired participants were recruited for this study. Seventeen Xsens inertial-magnetic sensors and fifty-two Cortex reflective markers were secured onto each of the participants

The paper aims primarily to study the sensitivity of Rapid entire body assessment (REBA) and identification of insensitive and sensitive posture zones. The investigative study, and sensitivity analysis of REBA offer deeper insights into the methodology used for the assessment of posture. Full factorial design is divided into parts using a forward approach to access the sensitivity. One parameter is

Manual labor is still strongly present in many industrial contexts (such as aerospace industry). Such operations commonly involve onerous tasks requiring to work in non-ergonomic conditions and to manipulate heavy parts. As a result, work-related musculoskeletal disorders are a major problem to tackle in workplace. In particular, back is one of the most affected regions. To solve such issue, many efforts