Ergonomics最新文献

Human-virtual object interaction is common in both entertainment and work settings. This study investigated the movement time (MT) and subjective rating of difficulty (SRD) for moving a virtual cuboid in a 3D space. The participants wore an augmented reality (AR) headset, picked up a virtual cuboid, and placed it on an assigned target. They rated the SRD of the task on a five-point scale. The effects of the 3D coordinate of the target, sex, and handedness on the MT were analysed. The error placement rate was also recorded. Significant effects of spatial coordinates were found on both MT and SRD. Both single- and two-stage MT modelling were conducted using segmented and unsegmented MT data, respectively. The insignificant prediction error between the models indicates that the two-stage MT model is not superior to the single-stage one. The findings of this study are beneficial to software designers in designing user-friendly AR applications.

The origins of Human Factors (HF) are rooted in the Second World War. It is a sign of the times that 75 years on from the formation of the Ergonomics Research Society, discussions occur as to whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) could/should be capable of controlling weaponry in a theatre of war. HF can support the design of safe, ethical, and usable AI: but there is little evidence of HF influencing industrial organisations developing AI. A review of the history of HF was conducted to understand how the influence of discipline on AI development may be optimised. The field may need to become broader and more inclusive, given the potential implications of innovation such as AI. The field of Responsible Research and Innovation can help the HF Practitioner ensure that the design and application of AI based technology serves to improve human well-being and optimise system performance over the next 75 years.Practitioner summary: A review of the history and origins of Human Factors was conducted. The review aimed to learn from the development of the discipline over the last 75 years to provide insights of what can be done to optimise the influence of HF to design safe, ethical, and usable artificial intelligence.

This research determines the critical factors for implementing ergonomics programs related to health and safety benefits in the manufacturing industries of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, from the middle/upper management perspective. The sample was non-probabilistically selected for convenience, comprising individuals in middle and senior management positions. An original questionnaire containing 105 items measuring five latent variables was developed, reviewed, and validated for data collection. The sample size totalled 206 participants. Structural equation models using partial least squares (PLS) were employed to analyse interrelationships between variables. This research demonstrated acceptable reliability and quality indices. Management commitment emerged as the most significant factor, exerting the highest direct, indirect, and total effects on the work environment and prevention activities, significantly enhancing health and safety benefits. Consequently, manufacturing companies in Juarez City must strive to improve management commitment in the working environment and prevention activities since both strategies can increase employee health and safety benefits.

Innovative approaches are needed for managing risk and system change in healthcare. This paper presents a case study of a project that took place over two years, taking a systems approach to managing the risk of healthcare acquired infection in an acute hospital setting, supported by an Access Risk Knowledge Platform which brings together Human Factors Ergonomics, Data Science, Data Governance and AI expertise. Evidence for change including meeting notes and use of the platform were studied. The work on the project focused on first systematically building a rich picture of the current situation from a transdisciplinary perspective. This allowed for understanding risk in context and developing a better capability to support enterprise risk management and accountability. From there a linking of operational and risk data took place which led to mapping of the risk pattern in the hospital.

Exoskeleton robots are a promising solution to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in different work environments, but a specific usability scale for evaluating them is lacking. This study aimed to develop and verify a preliminary Exoskeleton Usability Questionnaire (EUQ) for the lower limb exoskeletons by creating a draft survey questionnaire from existing questions in prior studies. An experiment was conducted with 20 participants who performed a specific task while wearing three lower limb robots and provided subjective feedback using the developed questionnaire. Data were analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), resulting in a usability evaluation questionnaire for exoskeleton robots clustered into four main factors: mobility, adjustability, handling and safety. This study's findings are expected to be useful in evaluating the usability of the lower limb exoskeletons in both general production sites and agricultural work, which can aid in reducing the prevalence of lower limb MSDs.Practitioner Summary: This study developed a preliminary subjective usability evaluation questionnaire for exoskeleton robots. The questionnaire is clustered into four main factors: mobility, adjustability, handling and safety. These findings provide a valuable tool for assessing exoskeleton usability, potentially reducing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in various work environments.

The objective of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a passive back-support exosuit at reducing low back muscle fatigue during an 18-minute trunk posture maintenance task. On two separate days sixteen participants performed an 18-minute trunk posture profile that reflected trunk flexion postures observed during a challenging vascular surgery procedure. On one day they performed the procedure with the support of the exosuit, on the other day without. Test contractions were performed every three minutes to capture the time-dependent electromyographic activity of the bilateral erector spinae muscles. Time domain (amplitude) and frequency domain (median frequency) measures of erector spinae muscle fatigue were assessed. Results revealed that the exosuit significantly reduced the measures of erector spinae muscle fatigue in terms of both amplitude (6.1%) and median frequency (5.3%), demonstrating a fatigue reduction benefit of the exosuit in a realistic surgical posture maintenance task.

As sleep problems can impair quality of work, an online questionnaire was used to examine relationships between sleepiness and decision making while obtaining unobtrusive indices of performance. Participants (N = 344) completed the Insomnia Severity Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire in a Qualtrics survey while reporting mobile phone use. Qualtrics recorded the time and the number of clicks required to complete each page of the survey. Multiple regression indicated that insomnia was associated with daytime sleepiness and Hypervigilance, and mobile phone use before bed. Participants with moderate sleepiness required a greater number of clicks to complete the questionnaire. Greater sleepiness was associated with longer times to complete these self-assessment tasks. Clinically significant sleepiness produces changes in performance that can be detected from online responsivity. As sleepy individuals can be appreciably and quantitatively slower in performing subjective self-assessment tasks, this argues for objective measures of sleepiness and automated interventions and the design of systems that allow better quality sleep.Practitioner summary: Work can require processing of electronic messages, but 24/7 accessibility increases workload, causes fatigue and potentially creates security risks. Although most studies use people's self-reports, this study monitors time and clicks required to complete self-assessment rating scales. Sleepiness affected online responsivity, decreasing online accuracy and increasing response times and hypervigilance.

Lower limb body shape is important in the design of functional pants. The skin, muscles, and body shapes of the lower limbs of wheelchair users may differ from healthy people because of the different shapes of their legs and the prolonged seating position. This study aimed to classify the shapes of the lower limbs of adult female wheelchair users. The lower body measurement of 384 female wheelchair users was obtained. The principal component analysis and two-step cluster analysis were used to categorise the body shapes into three different types and five different size standards. Based on the study findings, female wheelchairs have larger waist, belly, and hip circumferences than healthy individuals, with 89.3% of them having prominent hips. Therefore, the design and production of trousers for wheelchair users should take into consideration the classification of lower limb shapes and sizes reported in this study.Practitioner summary: This work initiated the investigation of human body size assessment of clothes for handicapped persons in China, allowing paraplegic female wheelchair users to wear adapted trousers.