An integrated biomechanical modeling approach to the ergonomic evaluation of drywall installation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchholz B ; Kriebel D ; Punnett, Laura ; Yuan L
• Description:
  Three different methodologies: work sampling, computer simulation and biomechanical modeling, were integrated to study the physical demands of drywall installation. PATH (Posture, Activity, Tools, and Handling), a work-sampling based method, was used to quantify the percent of time that the drywall installers were conducting different activities with different body segment (trunk, arm, and leg) postures. Utilizing Monte-Carlo simulation to convert the categorical PATH data into continuous variables as inputs for the biomechanical models, the required muscle contraction forces and joint reaction forces at the low back (L4/L5) and shoulder (glenohumeral and sternoclavicular joints) were estimated for a typical eight-hour workday. To demonstrate the robustness of this modeling approach, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the impact of some quantitative assumptions that have been made to facilitate the modeling approach. The results indicated that the modeling approach seemed to be the most sensitive to both the distribution of work cycles for a typical eight-hour workday and the distribution and values of Euler angles that are used to determine the "shoulder rhythm." Other assumptions including the distribution of trunk postures did not appear to have a significant impact on the model outputs. It was concluded that the integrated approach might provide an applicable examination of physical loads during the non-routine construction work, especially for those operations/tasks that have certain patterns/sequences for the workers to follow. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Construction Industry Ergonomics Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Software Workplace
• Keywords:
  Analytical Methods Author Keywords: Work Sampling Biomechanical-modeling Biomechanical Model Biomechanics Body Regions Computer Applications Computer Models Construction Construction Industry Construction Workers Drywall Force Manual Materials Handling Monte-Carlo Simulation Motion Studies Muscle Contraction Physical Stress Posture Quantitative Analysis Sampling Sampling Methods Simulation Methods Tools Work Environment Work Intervals

  More +
• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; Maryland ; Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  52-63
• Volume:
  53
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047856
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2016 Mar; 53(Pt A):52-63
• Contact Point Address:
  Lu Yuan, Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology, Southeastern Louisiana University, SLU 10847, Hammond, LA 70402, USA
• Email:
  Lu.Yuan@selu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  The Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Part Number:
  A
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20050630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:45866bd94b3ce535dae60c36d7f504b42d12edafda85c14a044a9a71c34da294e3fa6f0f40cb4652a4cca2c32119aac8e9ccb4a2bf562a48ea41489b54db0fa1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202815/cdc_202815_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 617.85 KB ]