A real time automatic ergonomic measure in identifying postural deviation for the assessment of manual assembly

Abstract

For real-time ergonomic applications, it is essential to track body data and perform real-time data analysis, for detecting postural deviations and possible ergonomic difficulties. This paper presents a setup that uses a body tracking system for automated, real-time postural data collection during an assembly task, for use in ergonomic studies. An analysis of the tracked data in developing a measure for assemblability assessment is also presented. A case study of a standing posture assembly, which involved inserting a threaded bolt into a threaded hole in a peg board, is used for the analysis. During the assembly task, postural data of operators is tracked automatically and analysed for angular variations in time, which is then compared with the benchmarks provided by RULA. The time taken in various postures across the activities is also compared. The results show that variation in the torso angle can be taken as a potential measure for assessing reach difficulty in assembly.