Ergonomic Hand Tool Interventions for the Furniture Manufacturing Industry

Details

• Personal Author:
  Mirka GA ; Myers KA ; Smith CA
• Description:
  This project focused on the development of ergonomic interventions to reduce the incidence of musculoskeletal problems in the furniture manufacturing industry. The results of an industry-based survey provided a list of the high priority jobs to be addressed with ergonomic interventions. This paper focuses on the development and evaluation of two of these interventions: an upholstery hand tool and an ergonomic interface for a random orbital sander. Laboratory testing was performed to examine the ergonomic issues with use of each intervention. A reduction in risk factors was found with use of the interventions. The upholstery hand tool reduced grip force from 36 to 18 N, improved hand posture by changing from a pinch grip to a power grip, and reduced the repetition rate from 40 to 24 repetitions per minute. EMG analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic muscles showed a reduction in overall muscle activity and a shift from the intrinsic muscles to the extrinsic finger flexor muscles. The ergonomic interface for the random orbital sander was designed to reduce exposure to vibration and eliminate the need for sustained, static grip force. A subjective survey of users revealed both a short and long term improvement in user comfort and fatigue, while a pre-post study design revealed no significant change in grip strength. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Engineering Ergonomics Interior Design And Furnishings Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Control-technology Engineering-controls Furniture-industry Furniture-manufacture Furniture-workers Hand-tools Injury-prevention Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Power-tools
• ISBN:
  0945289138
• Publisher:
  Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  California ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  99-102
• Volume:
  44
• Issue:
  29
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026164
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. Proceedings of the IEA 2000/HFES 2000 Congress, July 30-August 4, 2000, San Diego, California. Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2000 Jul; 44(29):99-102
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Performing Organization:
  North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. Proceedings of the IEA 2000/HFES 2000 Congress, July 30-August 4, 2000, San Diego, California
• End Date:
  20030929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:213ee726f79a6edb54f43ea8eb62ade013a32a481e37e93bacdbade85a17add7f7c30634d69468aaa8b376806e78a15aacffd5ed54bb5fa27aceb704404493a3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197220/cdc_197220_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 872.10 KB ]