Ergonomic Solutions for Furniture Manufacturers;Final rept

摘要

The specific aims of this project were to study the effectiveness and the efficacy of ergonomic interventions for the reduction of musculoskeletal injuries/illnesses in the furniture manufacturing industry and, more globally, to explore ways that ergonomic interventions can be introduced/promoted to increase the likelihood of their acceptance by the users. This research effort can be broken down into seven research projects that were completed during the period of this grant. The aim of Project No. 1 was to identify those jobs and work tasks that were most problematic from the perspective of musculoskeletal injury/illness. The aim of Project No. 2 was to identify the specific physical risk factors posed by these prioritized jobs. The aim of Project No. 3 was to design, engineer and prototype engineering and work practice controls that were developed with the expressed goal of eliminating or reducing exposure to the identified risk factors. The aim of Project No. 4 was to perform a formal laboratory analysis of the prototypes developed through Project No. 3. The aim of Project No. 5 was to perform a formal field analysis of the prototypes developed through Project No. 3 and assessed in project No. 4. Project No. 6 was an evaluation of the effects of the participatory ergonomics technique in the acceptance of the ergonomic interventions. Project No. 7 was also a study that considered ways that interventions could be developed and presented to increase the likelihood of their acceptance.