Due to the increasingly high proportion of manual activities in production processes, there is a constant risk of musculoskeletal disorders or work-related injuries. The risk of these problems is exacerbated by the trend towards an ageing working population. European legislation is pressing for improved working conditions to eliminate the risks associated with health problems for workers. For this reason, the application of ergonomics in this field is growing. Musculoskeletal disorders, which are most often caused by inappropriate working postures, are a major problem. There are many methods for evaluating working postures. However, there is a high degree of subjectivity in the risk assessment. Motion capture kinematic suits can ensure the objectivity of the assessment. This article discusses research on ergonomics assessment using motion capture technology. A systematic literature search method was used for the research, beginning with the determination of the research procedure, through the definition of the research queries, to the formulation of the research itself to identify relevant sources. The study presents the most widely used methods for assessing the ergonomics of work positions using motion capture technology, their advantages, and disadvantages. It also follows the trend in the number of publications between 2010 and 2022 in countries where the topic is most frequently addressed and in the industries where motion capture technology is used for ergonomics assessment in general. The research showed that this approach is most often used in industry and logistics, and less frequently in healthcare and sport. The authors agree that the most frequently used ergonomics assessment methods are not complex enough to be used in combination with motion capture and that a combination of the two is needed. At the same time, this technology has become very important in the field of ergonomic evaluation of work positions, offering a higher degree of objectivity, or can be combined with the use of virtual reality, but the evaluation systems are still not error-free and there is a need for continuous improvement.
Current trends in the development of automation and digitalization of production processes allow new approaches to data collection and processing. The development of technology and the speed of change mean that companies are not always able to take advantage of the benefits of applying these modern possibilities. New tools make it possible to increase the efficiency of manufacturing processes while at the same time optimizing them. Various classical methodologies for evaluating production processes are used for this purpose. However, these methodologies often fail to respond to the development of the industry and are not sufficient for objective evaluation of production processes. A significant shortcoming is the difficulty of standardizing the general analysis of the production process or of including qualitative evaluation parameters among the quantitative ones. This is reflected in inaccurate evaluation outputs, especially in the manual processes of larger assembly units with a high proportion of human labor. Due to the higher proportion of human labor, errors and shortcomings often occur in these processes, which can be linked precisely to qualitative parameters that cannot be easily determined from the database of quantitative parameters.One such parameter is the ergonomics of the tasks performed, particularly in terms of inappropriate working positions. The identification of these parameters and their influence on the evaluation of production processes is critical for the competitiveness of manufacturing companies. The development of modern technologies, specifically Motion Capture suits, allows these parameters to be monitored, recorded, evaluated, and subsequently included in a comprehensive evaluation of manufacturing processes. Motion Capture technology enables the recording of working motion and ranges of limb angles relative to a specified plane of the person being measured at any given time. Work movements are recorded in real-time and the resulting data can then be processed and evaluated. This data in the form of qualitative indicators are used to support and objectify the evaluation of production processes. The approach allows for higher evaluation accuracy and helps manufacturing companies optimize other business processes to ensure greater competitiveness. This paper deals specifically with the process of using the Motion Capture suit to identify quality parameters for the evaluation of manufacturing processes.
In industrial practice today, the focus is mainly on production automation, big data and smart things. But processes that can't be automated yet are being forgotten. These are manual assembly operations. In the world of assembly, it is still not possible to replace all manual activities appropriately with automation. For this reason, too, there is still a need to address standard setting. However, performance has long since ceased to be the only factor considered by industrial companies. As important as it is to ensure that workers are as productive as possible and that the resulting revenue is maximized. However, the health of the workforce itself cannot be ignored.In order to achieve optimal results, it is necessary to constantly link performance and workers' health. This thesis will examine precisely the link between rationalization and ergonomics or between the setting of standards, worker movements, and potential worker overload. Specifically, it focuses on finding the link between ergonomics and norming or finding the link between local muscle loading and the pre-set time method. The contribution of this work is to detect bad movements at the design stage of a new workplace, as well as to detect dangerous movements in real production without EMG measurements.The evaluation and selection of a suitable measurement tool is the result of the research part. After studying the literature and articles that deal with ergonomics, a measuring instrument for measuring local muscle strain using electromyography will be used for the dissertation research. In the Czech Republic, there is only one measuring device, which is: EMG Holter from Geta. The data collection is oriented toward workers in assembly companies within the Czech Republic, therefore the EMG Holter will be used. Due to the research conducted and literature studied, it was found that the most common occupational disease is upper limb disorders, which are caused by overuse and repetitive movements. Carpal tunnel syndrome has been the most common occupational disease in the Czech Republic for several years. The issue of local muscle strain is nowadays very much addressed. In the Czech Republic, the local muscle load is measured on the forearms of the upper limbs (flexor, extensor). The only legally approved device is the EMG Holter from Geta. The review of scientific articles focused mainly on the issue of norming, with a detailed focus on the MOST method (Maynard Operation Sequence Technique) and its connection with ergonomics. Subsequently, the field of integrated electromyography was explored, especially the measurement of local muscle loading on the upper forearm. Due to the very small sample of papers found on the topic of the link between the MOST method and ergonomics in general, it was found that a very small number of authors had dedicated their research to this topic. However, the models found did not include a link to any norming method focusing on local muscle loading. The aim of this thesis is Identification of the relationship between local muscle loading and the pre-set time method. Within this thesis, I will discuss the MOST (Maynard Operation Sequence Technique) or the method of analysing movement patterns. In order to understand the aforementioned link, it is necessary to create a database of at-risk movements and relate these movements to the MOST method.
The paper is focused on influence of the upper limb position on the forearm iEMG activity. The paper describes the methodology of measurement and assessment of local muscle load in production workers with a detailed focus on the influence of the position of the upper limbs and the loads handled, because ergonomics affects not only the productivity of workers, but also their health. The paper contains the results of measurements on a group of 180 research participants aged 20-65 years. To understand the links between these activities, it was necessary to implement experimental measurements in laboratory conditions where probands performed controlled movements with different weights. The experimental results were then statistically evaluated and verified to determine the specific conclusions of the paper. It is a continuation of research that has already been described in the paper "Influence of the upper limb position on the forearm EMG activity – Preliminary Results".
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