Two-hand actuator placement for power press operation: A reexamination of after-reach speeds

Abstract

This study reexamined data from an earlier study by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health addressing the after-reach speed of press operators—a speed that is a key part of standards for locating two-hand actuator buttons from the point of operation. The 60 participating press operators performed four reaches in each of two button placements. The investigators reported on the fastest of the four for each operator. They concluded that the 1.6 m/ s value is inadequate to protect many of the faster press operators. For this paper, all reach speeds were analyzed and used to identify the percentiles of all after-reaches that were slower than several common percentile.