Ergonomic evaluation of work table for waste sorting tasks using digital human modelling

Integrating human factors early in the design process using digital human modelling and surrogate modelling

Journal of Engineering Design ◽

10.1080/09544828.2020.1869704 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-22

Author(s):

Salman Ahmed ◽

Lukman Irshad ◽

Mihir Sunil Gawand ◽

H. Onan Demirel

Keyword(s):

Human Factors ◽

Design Process ◽

Surrogate Modelling ◽

Human Modelling ◽

Digital Human

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School combo-desk comfort assessment: A method for weighing postural factors that affect the overall perceived comfort

Work ◽

10.3233/wor-208005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 68 (s1) ◽

pp. S47-S57 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rosaria Califano ◽

Marianeve Cecco ◽

Giuseppina De Cunzo ◽

Nicoletta Napolitano ◽

Emanuela Rega ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Test Procedure ◽

Body Part ◽

Analysis Method ◽

Statistical Correlations ◽

Subjective Perceptions ◽

General Law ◽

Human Modelling ◽

Comfort Perception ◽

Postural Analysis ◽

Digital Human

BACKGROUND: In recent years, a growing interest in ergonomics and comfort perception in secondary schools and universities can be detected, to go beyond the UNI-EN regulations and understanding how practically improve students’ perceived comfort during lessons. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyse the (dis)comfort perceived by students while sitting in a combo-desk during lessons; it proposed a method for understanding and weighing the influence of postural factors on overall (dis)comfort. METHODS: Twenty healthy students performed a random combination of three different tasks in two sessions - listening, reading on a tablet and writing. Subjective perceptions were investigated through questionnaires, in which the expected and the overall comfort were evaluated; postural angles were gathered by processing photos through Kinovea® software and were used for the virtual-postural analysis, using a DHM (Digital Human Modelling) software; statistical analysis was used to investigate the influence of subjective comfort of each body part on the overall perceived comfort. RESULTS: The statistical correlations were used to perform an optimization problem in order to create a general law to formulate the overall comfort function, for each task, as a weighted sum of the comfort perceived in each body part. The test procedure, additionally, evaluated the influence on comfort over time. The results showed how the upper back and the task-related upper limb are the most influencing factors in the overall comfort perception. CONCLUSIONS: The paper revealed a precise and straightforward analysis method that can be easily repeated for other design applications. Obtained results can suggest to designers easy solution to re-design the combo-desk.

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