Design Improvement of a Polishing Machine Work Station in Industrial Environment to Minimize Health Risk
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
7-26-2021
Description
The application of ergonomics in the industry has become significantly important nowadays, especially for designing a workstation. The purpose of ergonomics application in industry is to make the workplace best fit for the workers to ensure their comfort and safety. It impacts the workers' satisfaction, reduces the number of injuries and production rate. To maximize the safety and productivity of a working environment, an ergonomic approach must evaluate every aspect of the workplace and appropriately implement rules, guidelines, and plans. This paper addressed an injury risk in the manufacturing industry and proposed multiple solutions to resolve injury and musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk. The injury risks include bare skin exposure to sparks while grinding, poor back posture, and hand injury while performing the operation. Keeping the worker in mind and the need for precision and specific tolerances, the difficulties are significant. The proposed design modification of the polishing/grinding machine was challenging because of the type of job performed here and the space limitations. The improvement of the workstation was made by incorporating an economic and ergonomic design approach. The result was verified by the ergonomic risk factor assessment tool Rapid Upper Limp Assessment (RULA) before and after the design modification.
Citation Information
Afrin, Samia; Reeves, Ty; Myers, Levi; Davis, Kyle; and Dowell, Noah Benjamin, "Design Improvement of a Polishing Machine Work Station in Industrial Environment to Minimize Health Risk" (2021). ETSU Faculty Works. 560.
https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works-2/560