Feel free to feel comfortable—An empirical analysis of ergonomics in the German automotive industry

Thun, Jörn‐Henrik; Lehr, Christian B.; Bierwirth, Max

doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2010.12.017

Cited by 41 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…(), Thun et al. () and Hamrol et al. () showed that time pressure is an important factor in failures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Confounding factors, such as operators' skills and product complexity for each line, were not reported. Thun, Lehr, and Bierwirth (2011) undertook a questionnaire survey in 55 automotive industries in Germany where the respondents were manufacturing managers. They believed that organizational ergonomics are more harmful than physical ergonomics (task-related risk factors and environmental ergonomic risks).…”

Section: Organizational Ergonomics: Integration Of Ergonomics In Prodmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Does Ergonomics Improve Product Quality and Reduce Costs? A Review Article

Zare

Croq

Hossein-Arabi

et al. 2015

Hum Ftrs & Erg Mfg Svc

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International audience

Competition is an ongoing challenge confronting industrial corporations, particularly automobile manufacturing. Striving to improve product quality and productivity, automotive industries have used different quality management approaches, such as reduced variability, total quality management, and lean management, over recent years. Furthermore, incorporating proactive ergonomics such as physical and organizational ergonomics and psychosocial factors into the structure of a company is considered to be a support for productivity and quality. Several studies have shown the effects of ergonomics on better quality. Application of both quality management approaches and ergonomics in an integrated manner in the manufacturing production system is emphasized because they are similar concepts with the same objectives, that is, to improve efficiency. In this study, a comprehensive review was undertaken and 25 studies were reviewed in order to define how integration of an ergonomic approach in the manufacturing production system can reduce defects and improve quality in the production process.

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“…(), Thun et al. () and Hamrol et al. () showed that time pressure is an important factor in failures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Organizational Ergonomics: Integration Of Ergonomics In Prodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Ergonomics Improve Product Quality and Reduce Costs? A Review Article

Zare

Croq

Hossein-Arabi

et al. 2015

Hum Ftrs & Erg Mfg Svc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

International audience

show abstract

“…Available estimations reveal significant economic consequences of occupational musculoskeletal disorders for national economies: they cost the US economy between $45 and $54 billion annually (NRC 2001) and decrease the gross national product of EU by up to 2% (Schneider and Irastorza 2010). Workplaces with high ergonomic risks are frequent in paced assembly systems because of one-sided strain due to repetitiveness of work (Schneider and Irastorza 2010;Thun, Lehr, and Bierwirth 2011;Schaub et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preventing ergonomic risks with integrated planning on assembly line balancing and parts feeding

Battini

Calzavara

Otto

et al. 2017

International Journal of Production Research

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In this paper, we advise to perform assembly line balancing simultaneously with decision-making on parts feeding. Such integrated planning may open additional potential to reduce labour costs. Additional planning flexibility gained with the integrated planning may be used to mitigate ergonomic risks at workplaces. We formulate the integrated assembly line balancing and parts feeding planning problem, propose a mixed-integer model and compare integrated planning to a common hierarchical planning approach in a detailed case study on the assembly of a self-priming pump. Our case study illustrates that workplaces with high ergonomic risks may emerge even in productions that involve handling parts and workpieces of low weights and avoid static and awkward postures. We also show that the proposed integrated planning approach may eliminate excessive ergonomic risks and improve productivity indicators simultaneously.

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“…WMSDs and loss of efficiency are typical issues tackled by human based production systems (Lotters et al, 2005;Thun et al, 2011). In Europe, WMSDs are the most common occupational injuries (almost 40% of all work-related injuries ) and their cost is estimated at between 0.5% and 2.0% of the EU Gross National Product (EASHW, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%