Reliability of a Health and Safety Complaint Ergonomic Assessment Tool Developed for Improved Work Posture Assessment on the Shop Floor

Abstract

Strategies for minimising the rate of occurrence of awkward postures during manual handling operations have been recommended. Awkward postures, if adopted for prolonged periods, can result in Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs). Hence, manual operations need to be assessed to identify if awkward postures exist. A real-time automatic Health and Safety (H&S) compliance posture assessment tool based on 3D sensing technology has been developed to assess operators undertaking manual handling tasks. This paper presents the validation of the developed tool using a reference tool. The analysis results indicate little notable angular discrepancies in the data measured by the developed tool and the reference tool. Comparing the data measured with the two tools, it is evident that there is remarkable consistency. The tool could be useful in workplaces to assess new workstations' safety and correct workers' methods in real-time.