1,519 research outputs found

    Industry 4.0 and the human factor : A systems framework and analysis methodology for successful development

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    The fourth industrial revolution we currently witness changes the role of humans in operations systems. Although automation and assistance technologies are becoming more prevalent in production and logistics, there is consensus that humans will remain an essential part of operations systems. Nevertheless, human factors are still underrepresented in this research stream resulting in an important research and application gap. This article first exposes this gap by presenting the results of a focused content analysis of earlier research on Industry 4.0. To contribute to closing this gap, it then develops a conceptual framework that integrates several key concepts from the human factors engineering discipline that are important in the context of Industry 4.0 and that should thus be considered in future research in this area. The framework can be used in research and development to systematically consider human factors in Industry 4.0 designs and implementations. This enables the analysis of changing demands for humans in Industry 4.0 environments and contributes towards a successful digital transformation that avoid the pitfalls of innovation performed without attention to human factors. The paper concludes with highlighting future research directions on human factors in Industry 4.0 as well as managerial implications for successful applications in practice

    Ergonomics and human factors as a requirement to implement safer collaborative robotic workstations: a literature review

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    There is a worldwide interest in implementing collaborative robots (Cobots) to reduce work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD) risk. While prior work in this field has recognized the importance of considering Ergonomics & Human Factors (E&HF) in the design phase, most works tend to highlight workstations’ improvements due to Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC). Based on a literature review, the current study summarises studies where E&HF was considered a requirement rather than an output. In this article, the authors are interested in understanding the existing studies focused on Cobots’ implementation with ergonomic requirements, and the methods applied to design safer collaborative workstations. This review was performed in four prominent publications databases: Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed, and Google Scholar, searching for the keywords ‘Collaborative robots’ or ‘Cobots’ or ‘HRC’ and ‘Ergonomics’ or ‘Human factors’. Based on the inclusion criterion, 20 articles were reviewed, and the main conclusions of each are provided. Additionally, the focus was given to the segmentation between studies considering E&HF during the design phase of HRC systems and studies applying E&HF in real-time on HRC systems. The results demonstrate the novelty of this topic, especially of the real-time applications of ergonomics as a requirement. Globally, the results of the reviewed studies showed the potential of E&HF requirements integrated into HRC systems as a relevant input for reducing WMSD risk.This work has been supported by FCT–Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e Tecnologia and MIT Portugal Program under the doctoral Grant SFRH/BD/151365/2021. This work has been also supported by NORTE-06-3559-FSE-000018, integrated in the invitation NORTE-59-2018-41, aiming the Hiring of Highly Qualified Human Resources, co-financed by the Regional Operational Programme of the North 2020, thematic area of Competitiveness and Employment, through the European Social Fund. Additionally, has been also supported by FCT within the Project “I-CATER–Intelligent robotic Coworker Assistant for industrial Tasks with an Ergonomics Rationale”, Ref. PTDC/EEIROB/3488/2021, and within R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

    Biomechanical Assessments of the Upper Limb for Determining Fatigue, Strain and Effort from the Laboratory to the Industrial Working Place: A Systematic Review

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    Recent human-centered developments in the industrial field (Industry 5.0) lead companies and stakeholders to ensure the wellbeing of their workers with assessments of upper limb performance in the workplace, with the aim of reducing work-related diseases and improving awareness of the physical status of workers, by assessing motor performance, fatigue, strain and effort. Such approaches are usually developed in laboratories and only at times they are translated to on-field applications; few studies summarized common practices for the assessments. Therefore, our aim is to review the current state-of-the-art approaches used for the assessment of fatigue, strain and effort in working scenarios and to analyze in detail the differences between studies that take place in the laboratory and in the workplace, in order to give insights on future trends and directions. A systematic review of the studies aimed at evaluating the motor performance, fatigue, strain and effort of the upper limb targeting working scenarios is presented. A total of 1375 articles were found in scientific databases and 288 were analyzed. About half of the scientific articles are focused on laboratory pilot studies investigating effort and fatigue in laboratories, while the other half are set in working places. Our results showed that assessing upper limb biomechanics is quite common in the field, but it is mostly performed with instrumental assessments in laboratory studies, while questionnaires and scales are preferred in working places. Future directions may be oriented towards multi-domain approaches able to exploit the potential of combined analyses, exploitation of instrumental approaches in workplace, targeting a wider range of people and implementing more structured trials to translate pilot studies to real practice

    Biomechanical Analysis of Stoop and Free-Style Squat Lifting and Lowering with a Generic Back-Support Exoskeleton Model

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    Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) induced by industrial manual handling tasks are a major issue for workers and companies. As flexible ergonomic solutions, occupational exoskeletons can decrease critically high body stress in situations of awkward postures and motions. Biomechanical models with detailed anthropometrics and motions help us to acquire a comprehension of person- and application-specifics by considering the intended and unintended effects, which is crucial for effective implementation. In the present model-based analysis, a generic back-support exoskeleton model was introduced and applied to the motion data of one male subject performing symmetric and asymmetric dynamic manual handling tasks. Different support modes were implemented with this model, including support profiles typical of passive and active systems and an unconstrained optimal support mode used for reference to compare and quantify their biomechanical effects. The conducted simulations indicate that there is a high potential to decrease the peak compression forces in L4/L5 during the investigated heavy loaded tasks for all motion sequences and exoskeleton support modes (mean reduction of 13.3% without the optimal support mode). In particular, asymmetric motions (mean reduction of 14.7%) can be relieved more than symmetric ones (mean reduction of 11.9%) by the exoskeleton support modes without the optimal assistance. The analysis of metabolic energy consumption indicates a high dependency on lifting techniques for the effectiveness of the exoskeleton support. While the exoskeleton support substantially reduces the metabolic cost for the free-squat motions, a slightly higher energy consumption was found for the symmetric stoop motion technique with the active and optimal support mode
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