Workstation Design

 Ergonomic design considerations

• Product/equipment
• Job aids
• User selection
• Training the user

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 Example 1

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 Example 2

BEFORE

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 Example 3

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 Example 4

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 G1: Avoid static loads and fixed work postures

 Static load increases systolic and diastolic

blood pressure.
 Metabolic wastes accumulate in the muscles.
 Consider increasing recovery time.

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 Static loading
 Standing
 Shoes affect center of gravity and forward bending
moment.
 Hard floors cause standing fatigue and increase
heart rate.
 Have hips parallel to the floor.
 Provide bar rail to vary work posture.

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 Static loading
 Falls
 Slips and falls are a major cause
of unintentional injury deaths and
have annual direct cost/capita of
$50–400.
 Causes of falls:
– Slips: unexpected horizontal foot
movement
– Trips: restriction of foot movement
– Stepping-on-air: unexpected vertical
foot movement

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 Static loading
 Solutions for Falls
 Prevent the fall:
– Use well-designed ladders, scaffolds, and ramps
properly.
– Provide safe steps.
– Use the three-contact rule.
– Provide good friction and reduce lubricants.
 Reduce the consequences of the fall:
– Interrupt the fall.
– Soften the impact.

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 Static loading
 Head Weight
 The head weighs about the same as a bowling
ball.
 Keep the line of sight below the horizontal.
 Maintain forward head tilt of 10º-15º
 Avoid backward and sideward tilts.

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 Source: Boeing Company, http://www.boeing.com/aboutus/environment/lead_ergo.htm
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 Static loading
 Hands/Arms
 An arm weighs about 4.4 kg.
 Avoid using the hand to hold up a tool or work
piece.
 Avoid working with elevated hands.
 Support the arms on the work surface or chair
arms.
 Consider using magnification.

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 G2: Reduce musculoskeletal disorders

 Set the work height at 50 mm below the

elbow.
 Don’t bend your wrist.
 Don’t lift your elbow.
 Don’t reach behind your back.
 Follow guidelines for hand and arm motions.

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 Source: Boeing Company, http://www.boeing.com/aboutus/environment/lead_ergo.htm

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 G3: Set the work height at 50 mm below
the elbow
 Work height is defined in terms of
elbow height.
 Optimum height is slightly below
the elbow.
 Optimum height from the elbow is
the same for sitting and standing.
 Work height is not table height.

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 VDT workstations
 Key items: screen, keyboard, document, eyes,
hands
 Workstation furniture must be adjustable.
 Locate the primary visual element first: ahead of
the eye, perpendicular to the line of sight.
 Train the operator in adjusting the equipment.
 Provide a wrist rest.

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 VDT workstations

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 G4: Furnish every employee with an
adjustable chair
 The cost of an adjustable chair is very low compared
to labor cost.
 Allow users to try chairs in their specific jobs.
 Buy chairs that are easily adjustable.
 Train people in proper adjustment.
 Chair Design
 Seats
 Backrests
 Armrests
 Legs/pedestals

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 Examples

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 G5:Use the feet as well as the hands
 The leg is slower and less dexterous than the
hands.
 The legs can provide 3 times the power of the
arms.
 Use pedals for power and control.

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 G6: Use gravity; don’t oppose it
 Make movements horizontal or downward;
avoid lifting.
 Consider using the weight of the body to
increase mechanical force.
 Use gravity to move material to the work.
 Use gravity as a fixture.
 Use gravity in feeding and disposal.

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 G7:Conserve momentum
 Avoid unnecessary acceleration and
deceleration.
 Use circular motion for stirring and polishing.
 Follow through in disposal motions.
 Eliminate grasping motions by providing lips,
rolled edges, and holes.
 Avoid transporting weight in the hand.

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 G8:Use 2-hand motions rather than
1-hand motions

 Cranking with 2 arms is 25% more efficient

than with one.
 Using 2 hands is more productive despite
taking more time and effort.
 Don’t use the hand as a fixture.

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 G9: Use parallel motions for eye control
of 2-hand motions
 Minimize the degree of spread rather than worry about
symmetry.
 Estimate the cost of eye control with predetermined time
systems.
 Parallel vs symmetrical motions

BC DD
B C C C
A D B B
A D A A

Parallel motions Symmetrical motions

• Shoulder moves • Shoulder steady
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 G10:Use rowing motions for 2-hand
motions
 Alternation causes movement of the shoulder
and twisting of the torso.
 Alternation causes higher heart rates.
 Rowing motions are more efficient and provide
greater power.

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 G11:Pivot motions about the elbow
 Motion time is minimized with motion about
the elbow.
 Cross-body movements are more accurate
than those about the elbow.
 Physiological cost is lower for movements
about the elbow.

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 G12:Use the preferred hand
 The dominant hand is:
 10% faster for reach-type motions
 More accurate than the non-dominant
 More exposed to cumulative trauma
 5% to 10% stronger

 Work should arrive from the operator’s

preferred side and leave from the non-
preferred side.

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 G13: Keep arm motions in the normal
work area
 Avoid long benches.
 Use swingarms and lazy Susans.
 For high use, keep it close.
 Remember the arm pivots on the shoulder,
not the nose.
 The shoulder is very sensitive to small
changes in workplace layout.

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 “Windshield Wiper” Pattern

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 G14: Let the small person reach; let the
large person fit
 Design so most of the user population can use the
design.
 Jobs must be designed for both sexes.
 Multiperson use of equipment and stations is
becoming more common.
 Civilian industrial population data are not the same as
military data.
 International populations be a consideration.
 The proportion to exclude depends on the seriousness
of designing people out and the cost of including more
people.
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 Ways to exclude few
 One size fits all
 Multiple sizes
 Adjustability

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