Ergonomics - Atlas Copco
Ergonomics - Atlas Copco
Ergonomics - Atlas Copco
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10<br />
SOCIOLOGY INDUSTRIAL<br />
SOCIOLOGY<br />
SOCIAL<br />
PSYCHOLOGY<br />
PSYCHOLOGY<br />
PSYCHOLOGY<br />
MEDICINE<br />
Fig. 1.1 <strong>Ergonomics</strong> is<br />
a multi-disciplinary<br />
science.<br />
Adapting the workstation<br />
to the operator<br />
WORK<br />
EXPERIENCE; SOCIAL<br />
PSYCHOLOGY<br />
PSYCH-<br />
OLOGY<br />
ENGI-<br />
NEERING<br />
WORK<br />
MEDICINE<br />
Every workstation is unique. The human<br />
being represents the largest collection of<br />
variables, therefore a workstation that suits<br />
one operator perfectly may be a disaster for<br />
another. This could be one of the reasons why<br />
problems often arise unexpectedly when a<br />
new production unit is started up.<br />
In the past, attempts have been made to<br />
set up a performance profile for every opera-<br />
tor and compare this with a specified demand<br />
profile for each workstation. These attempts<br />
ERGONOMICS<br />
INDUSTRIAL<br />
DESIGN<br />
ECONOMIC<br />
ADMINISTRATION<br />
APPLIED<br />
TECHNICAL<br />
DISCIPLINES<br />
were not successful, however, because the<br />
degree of sophistication of the human body<br />
defies efforts to encapsulate its parameters<br />
neatly in a performance profile. The work-<br />
station itself is also quite complicated.<br />
The goal must be to design workstations<br />
where every member of the actual workforce<br />
can work comfortably. This calls for a large<br />
degree of adjustability that often increases the<br />
cost. However, the investment can be justified<br />
by the resulting high flexibility.<br />
In recent years a clear trend has emerged<br />
where ergonomists in large companies are in-<br />
creasingly involved in the development of the<br />
next generation of products. Decision-makers<br />
are realizing that the most cost effective way<br />
to improve ergonomics in production is to de-<br />
sign a product for easy production. The need<br />
for workstations that are badly designed from<br />
an ergonomics viewpoint is thus eliminated.<br />
Power tool ergonomics<br />
Operator comfort also depends on the power<br />
tool selected. In our range of pneumatic and<br />
electric nutrunners there are twelve different<br />
versions capable of tightening the same joint.<br />
They are designed for different purposes.<br />
For example, an impact wrench might be<br />
chosen for a vehicle repair shop, or a computer<br />
controlled electric nutrunner for safety joints in<br />
the automotive industry. All the tools are differ-