Engineering Approach to Workspace Design: Issues for the Obese Workers

Workspace design plays an important role in ensuring workers safety and welfare. The issue is more pressing in the manufacturing industry, where many workers must remain in a standing position, assume awkward postures, and perform repetitive tasks for extended periods of time. In this research, an electromyographic measurement technique was used to measure muscle activity on four back muscles: the trapezius p. descendenz, the deltoideus p. scapularis, the infraspinatus, and the latissimus dorsi. The results showed a statistically significant (p < 0.05) impact of left versus right side of the body, the degree of rotation to the right side of the body (0, 30 and 60 degrees rotation to the mid-saggital plane), BMI level: (normal weight: (< 25 kg/m²) versus overweight: (? 25 kg/m²), and tasks (high versus low frequency). In this study, the role that workers and workspace variation play is clearly associated with an increase in the amplitude of EMG at the targeted back muscles. Topics covered in this text include: . Manufacturing context issues . worker postures . Repetitive tasks . Muscle activity measurement . Body Mass Index (BMI)