Ergonomic evaluation on the manufacturing shop floor: A review of hardware and software technologies

Abstract

The high rate of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among workers on the shop floor has led to the development of various ergonomic evaluation and risk assessment tools by researchers. This paper presents a summary of existing literature reviews of hardware and software technologies developed for effective ergonomic evaluation and correct risk assessment on manufacturing shop floors. Criteria was set for the review and after comprehensive search on 14 databases, 24 studies met the criteria. Old and modern ergonomic evaluation hardware and software technologies for effective evaluation on shop floors are identified. Most literatures cited the digital human models (DHMs), which can be created on many ergonomic evaluation software tools, to be an effective ergonomic evaluation tool. Gaps are identified with the use of DHMs for ergonomic evaluations. Ultimately, this study is a contribution towards identifying adequate ergonomic evaluation and correct risk assessment tools which when implemented on the Shop floor, can lead to improved productivity, enhanced efficiency and reduced cost.