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Ergonomic Risk Assessment of Manufacturing Works in Virtual Reality Context

2023; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 40; Issue: 14 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10447318.2023.2201558

1532-7590

Suman Kalyan Sardar, Chae Heon Lim, Sol Hee Yoon, Seul Chan Lee,

Ergonomics and Human Factors

AbstractIndustry 4.0 is potentially innovative in the workers' role, which is becoming increasingly involved in smart activities. In this situation, it is necessary to improve highly repetitive uncomfortable working postures to reduce physical risks. This study intends to assess physical risks during VR interaction for manufacturing work. Posture-related physical risk levels were calculated using ergonomic risk assessment tools RULA, REBA, and OWAS. Three task conditions were considered for the experiment in a VR-based car-assembly environment. An analysis of variance was applied to investigate significant differences between task conditions, and it suggested that a higher risk level was obtained while working in the overhead position for RULA and REBA, whereas the squatting position obtained a higher risk level for OWAS. Sensitivity analysis identified that the upper arm and neck were responsible for the highest risk level for RULA, the upper arm, neck, and trunk for REBA, and the back posture parameter for OWAS.Keywords: Virtual reality (VR)ergonomicsmusculoskeletal disordersRULAREBAOWAS Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementAll relevant data are within the article.Additional informationFundingThis research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2020R1I1A3067932).Notes on contributorsSuman Kalyan SardarSuman Kalyan Sardar is a Research Professor at Gyeongsang National University. He received Ph.D. from Hanyang University, South Korea. He is currently working in Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction to design, deploy, and evaluate technologies that revolve around human life.Chae Heon LimChae Heon Lim is a master student in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Gyeongsang National University. His research interests include user experience in virtual reality environments.Sol Hee YoonSol Hee Yoon is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Safety Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology. Her research focuses on the design of safe transportation systems as well as risk assessment for industrial safety based on human factors and ergonomics methodologies.Seul Chan LeeSeul Chan Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Gyeongsang National University. His research goal is to explore users' needs and requirements, evaluate system artifacts, and improve systems and devices better based on the theories and methodologies of Human Factors, Ergonomics, and Human-Computer Interaction.