Documents ergonomics 526 results

"For a number of years past, the Montreal-based CINBIOSE centre (the Centre for the study of biological interactions in environmental health - University of Quebec) has been conducting research to make visible and gain recognition for aspects of women's work which are bad for their physical or mental health. This research stems from the concerns and needs voiced by women workers themselves. Most of it is conducted in partnership with the three main Quebec trade unions. Through their scientific research and commitment to making workplaces healthy and safe, the team aims to shed light on what has so far remained invisible. We thought this was a lead which should be brought to European attention. It shows the immense potential contribution of action-oriented research to improving equal opportunities and working conditions."

"Robots collaboratifs (cobots), exosquelettes, véhicules à guidage automatique (AGV)… Les nouvelles technologies d'assistance physique (NTAP) sont pour les entreprises synonymes d'amélioration des conditions de travail. Mais encore faut-il que le choix d'y recourir soit justifié, que la solution retenue soit adaptée aux besoins et que son intégration tienne compte des risques liés à son utilisation pour que le potentiel de prévention de ces technologies soit réellement exploité."

"Halting environmental degradation requires workplaces to undergo a profound shift towards ecologically sustainable work that challenges customary growthoriented thinking and holds justice and the well-being of workers as a core value. Structures and practices of workplaces provide a critical link through which this transition could be achieved. However, there is a lack of clear and systemic definition and an easily applicable model to guide workplaces to become both just and green. In this paper, we aim to define the key characteristics of a just green workplace by using human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) as the underlying theoretical approach. Humans are positioned as the core component across all system levels. Thus, we posit that the HF/E approach can serve as a fundamental building block for just green workplaces. It helps shift the focus of the currently prevailing technology-, administration- and (de)growth-oriented green transition towards one that is more human-centric, contextually aware, as well as competence- and developmentally oriented. We apply a HF/E Tool to two case examples from different sectors to demonstrate the systemic, underlying factors of just green work at the individual, work, group, and organisational levels. Based on the findings, we present criteria and recommendations for a just green workplace. In addition, the value and development needs of the HF/E approach in fostering sustainability are discussed."

Open Journal Systems

"Industry 5.0 emphasizes human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience as its core characteristics, with a focus on developing socio-technical systems that enhance human health, safety, and well-being while fostering sustainable societal practices. The human-centric perspective places significant importance on human factors and ergonomics, aiming to align technological advancements with the needs and capabilities of individuals. In this context, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a transformative tool for advancing human factors and ergonomics by optimizing workplace conditions and supporting human-centered design principles. This paper conducts a literature review to explore the applications and potential of AI in addressing human factors and ergonomics challenges, providing insights into its role in shaping the future of human-centric systems within Industry 5.0."

This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

"Awkward postures are a significant contributor to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs), which represent great social and economic burdens. Various posture assessment tools assess WRMSD risk but fall short in providing an elucidating risk breakdown to expedite the typical time-consuming ergonomic assessments. Quantifying, automating, but also complementing posture risk assessment become crucial. Thus, we developed a framework for a holistic posture assessment, able to, through inertial data, quantify the ergonomic risk and also qualitatively identify the posture leading to it, using Deep Learning. This innovatively enabled the generation of a report in a graphical user interface (GUI), where the ergonomic score is intuitively associated with the postures adopted, empowering workers to learn which are the riskiest postures, and helping ergonomists and managers to redesign critical work tasks. The continuous posture assessment also considered the previous postures' impact on joint stress through a kinematic wear model. As use case, thirteen subjects replicated harvesting and bricklaying, work tasks of the two activity sectors most affected by WRMSDs, agriculture and construction, and a posture assessment was conducted. Three ergonomists evaluated this report, considering it very useful in improving ergonomic assessments' effectiveness, expeditiousness, and ease of use, with the information easily understandable and reachable."

"For a number of years past, the Montreal-based CINBIOSE centre (the Centre for the study of biological interactions in environmental health - University of Quebec) has been conducting research to make visible and gain recognition for aspects of women's work which are bad for their physical or mental health. This research stems from the concerns and needs voiced by women workers themselves. Most of it is conducted in partnership with the three main Quebec trade unions. Through their scientific research and commitment to making workplaces healthy and safe, the team aims to shed light on what has so far remained invisible. We thought this was a lead which should be brought to European attention. It shows the immense potential contribution of action-oriented research to improving equal opportunities and working conditions."

"Le présent rapport montre comment le lieu de travail peut servir de cadre pour des activités de promotion de la santé allant au-delà des préoccupations traditionnelles limitées aux risques d'origine professionnelle. Etabli par un groupe de onze experts internationaux, le rapport est axé sur des programmes et des activités mis au point pour les travailleurs et dont il a été démontré qu'ils pouvaient modifier les modes de vie, améliorer la santé, accroître la productivité et réduire l'absentéisme et les accidents sur le lieu de travail. La section la plus importante se fonde sur des études et des données d'expérience, provenant essentiellement de pays industrialisés, pour illustrer les résultats favorables obtenus au moyen de certains types de programmes. Ceux-ci comprennent les mesures visant à réduire à l'usage du tabac, promouvoir l'activité physique, améliorer la nutrition et le contrôle du poids et, enfin, combattre la consommation d'alcool et de drogues. Les programmes destinés à réduire les facteurs psychosociaux défavorables et à corriger les problèmes ergonomiques sont également examinés"

"Background:
Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) has been an important field of research in recent years, since machines will continue to be embedded in many human actvities in several contexts, such as industry and healthcare. Monitoring in an ecological mannerthe cognitive workload (CW) of users, who interact with machines, is crucial to assess their level of engagement in activities and the required effort, with the goal of preventing stressful circumstances. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the assessment of CW using wearable sensors in HMI.
Methods: this narrative review explores several techniques and procedures for collecting physiological data through wearable sensors with the possibility to integrate these multiple physiological signals, providing a multimodal monitoring of the individuals'CW. Finally, it focuses on the impact of artificial intelligence methods in the physiological signals data analysis to provide models of the CW to be exploited in HMI.
Results: the review provided a comprehensive evaluation of the wearables, physiological signals, and methods of data analysis for CW evaluation in HMI. Conclusion: the literature highlighted the feasibility of employing wearable sensors to collect physiological signals for an ecological CW monitoring in HMI scenarios. However, challenges remain in standardizing these measures across different populations and contexts."

"Au cours des projets de conception des lieux et des situations de travail, de très nombreuses questions se posent sur l'utilisation des futurs équipements, la gestion des flux (de matières, d'activités, d'informations, etc.) et l'adaptation des organisations, techniques ou humaines. L'usage de la simulation peut alors être particulièrement pertinent, afin d'élaborer et d'instruire des scénarios ou de trouver des solutions à des problèmes parfois complexes, notamment en termes de prévention des risques professionnels. Quels acteurs impliquer, quels outils utiliser ?
Ce dossier se propose d'explorer un certain nombre de situations d'usage et d'outils mis en œuvre dans le cadre de la simulation : plans, maquettes et prototypes, mannequins et avatars (analogiques ou numériques), logiciels et réalité virtuelle peuvent contribuer à l'amélioration de la conception des futurs lieux, postes ou situations de travail, en prenant en compte les questions de santé et de sécurité au travail."

"Autonomous systems are inherently designed to be self-sufficient only under particular circumstances, for specific activities. The environment needs to be tailored to align with these design boundaries, ensuring that technical systems operate as intended. This paper proposes that insights from resilience engineering can enhance the self-sufficiency of so-called autonomous systems, consequently bolstering their adaptive capacity in unforeseen or unpredicted scenarios. Two cases of autonomous systems are examined to illustrate how this enhancement can be achieved. The conclusion drawn is that the resilience envelope of a system can be augmented by enabling the system to adapt to multiple design cases, by defining and prioritizing the core values of the system, and by designing the system to possess a framework for situations rather than being confined to a singular situational frame. The implications for the design of human-machine systems are also discussed."