Musculoskeletal symptoms, ergonomic aspects and psychosocial factors in two different truck assembly concepts

Johansson, Jan; Kadefors, Roland; Rubenowitz, Sigvard; Klingenstierna, Ulrika; Lindström, Ingalill; Engström, Tomas; Johansson, Mats I.

doi:10.1016/0169-8141(93)90036-d

Cited by 64 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The timedensity of work is analogous to the concept of duty cycle (percentage active time within work-cycles), which is emerging as a potentially useful ergonomic indicator (Veiersted et al 1993, Moore 1999. While one should always be cautious when generalizing from case studies, the case presented here appears consistent with Johansson et al (1993) who suggest that isolating or delaying human factors considerations can compromise the success of capital investment in new technology. These results are also consistent with the interview investigations of the change process in which operators reported stress due to the work-pace of the new system and expressed concern about their long-term health (Kihlberg et al).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Di erent production operators sta ed the new system, preventing individually paired comparisons, a problem that has been observed in similar studies and is part of the challenge of research in real production systems (Johansson et al 1993). Large within and between individual variability, demand large subject pools for statistical power (Mathiassen et al 2002) which is not feasible in most research contexts.…”

Section: The Investigated Case and Project Cooperationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A case study evaluating the ergonomic and productivity impacts of partial automation strategies in the electronics industry

Neumann¹,

Kihlberg²,

Medbo³

et al. 2002

International Journal of Production Research

107

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A case study is presented that evaluates the impact of partial automation strategies on productivity and ergonomics. A company partly automated its assembly and transportation functions while moving from a parallel-batch to a serial line-based production system. Data obtained from company records and key informants were combined with detailed video analysis, biomechanical modelling data and ®eld observations of the system. The new line system was observed to have 51% higher production volumes with 21% less per product labour input and lower work-in-process levels than the old batch-cart system. Partial automation of assembly operations was seen to reduce the total repetitive assembly work at the system level by 34%. Automation of transportation reduced transport labour by 63%. The strategic decision to implement line-transportation was found to increase movement repetitiveness for operators at manual assembly stations, even though workstations were constructed with consideration to ergonomics. Average shoulder elevation at these stations increased 30% and average shoulder moment increased 14%. It is concluded that strategic decisions made by designers and managers early in the production system design phase have considerable impact on ergonomic conditions in the resulting system. Automation of transport and assembly both lead to increased productivity, but only elements related to the automatic line system also increased mechanical loads on operators and hence increased the risk for work-related disorders. Suggestions for integrating the consideration of ergonomics into production system design are made.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: The Investigated Case and Project Cooperationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A case study evaluating the ergonomic and productivity impacts of partial automation strategies in the electronics industry

Neumann¹,

Kihlberg²,

Medbo³

et al. 2002

International Journal of Production Research

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Data concerning physical load during leisure time (item J) were collected and analyzed in 11 studies. Of the 40 studies, 15 cross-sectional studies with a total quality score of 3 or less were excluded from the determination of the level of evidence (24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38). Consequently, the final number of studies included in the level of evidence synthesis was 25 [ie, 2 prospective cohort studies (22,39), 1 case-referent study (23), and 22 crosssectional studies (2,(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)].…”

Section: Item Categories With Different Item Definitions Designa I Vipbmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical risk factors for neck pain

Ariëns

Mechelen²,

Bongers³

et al. 2000

Scand J Work Environ Health

462

320

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Ariens GAM, van Mechelen W, Bongers PM, Bouter LM, van der Wal G. Physical risk factors for neck pain. Scand J Work Environ Health 2000;26(1):7-19.To identify physical risk factors for neck pain, a systematic review of the literature was carried out. Based on methodological quality and study design, 4 levels of evidence were defined to establish the strength of evidence for the relationship between risk factors and neck pain. Altogether, 22 cross-sectional studies, 2 prospective cohort studies, and 1 case-referent study were eligible for determining the level of evidence. The results showed some evidence for a positive relationship between neck pain and the duration of sitting and twisting or bending of the trunk. A sensitivity analysis was carried out excluding 3 items of the quality list, the importance of which seemed doubtful. On the basis of this sensitivity analysis, it was concluded that there is some evidence for a positive relationship between neck pain and the following work-related risk factors: neck flexion, arm force, arm posture, duration of sitting, twisting or bending of the trunk, hand-arm vibration, and workplace design.

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“…Fredriksson et al 2001, de Looze et al 2003 and vice versa (e.g. Johansson et al 1993, Sawamura et al 1996, Melin et al 1999) have been studied. Positive effects have been reported for both types of change, in terms of both production output and human factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing from batch to flow assembly in the production of emergency lighting devices

Rhijn

Looze²,

Tuinzaad

et al. 2005

International Journal of Production Research

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Musculoskeletal symptoms, ergonomic aspects and psychosocial factors in two different truck assembly concepts

Cited by 64 publications

References 12 publications

A case study evaluating the ergonomic and productivity impacts of partial automation strategies in the electronics industry

A case study evaluating the ergonomic and productivity impacts of partial automation strategies in the electronics industry

Physical risk factors for neck pain

Changing from batch to flow assembly in the production of emergency lighting devices

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