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Investigation and Management of the Risk of Musculoskeletal Injury in Workers of Irankhodro Assembly Line by Using Qualitative and Quantitative Tools in Occupational Biomechanics

Lajevardi, Ali | 2021

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 54381 (08)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Mechanical Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Arjmand, Navid
  7. Abstract:
  8. According to epidemiological studies, low back pain is the most prevalent musculoskeletal disease thus indicating the important role of biomechanical engineers to manage risk of injury. Different quantitative (i.e., biomechanical models) and qualitative (empirical) assessment tools are used to evaluate risk of musculoskeletal injuries. The present study uses various quantitative and qualitative risk assessment tools to investigate the risk of injury among workers in Iran Khodro Automaker company (IKCO) assembly hall No. 3 (Pars Peugeot car assembly). Moreover, different engineering and administrative interventions are suggested to manage risk of musculoskeletal injuries when needed. The investigated jobs include: whole-body vibration in forklift drivers, driver's seat assembly, windshield assembly, gas tank assembly, and flywheel assembly on motor housing. To assess the risk of injury, workers' posture and movement data were first collected using a mobile camera. Subsequently, the tasks were analyzed using several quantitative (e.g. AnyBody, 3DSSPP, CATIA, Neural Networks and Regression Equations) and qualitative (e.g., NIOSH, Snooks, ManTRA, MAC, RULA, REBA, WISHA, OWAS, QEC, and V3) tools. Because these tasks were all of repetitive nature, damage accumulation was also studied using the available tools in the literature. In the gas tank assembly task, QEC, V3, RULA, and REBA tools indicated a high risk of injury. In the flywheel assembly task, results of the qualitative tools, especially Snook’s Tables and V3, showed high risks that required administrative and engineering interventions. In the seat assembly task, results of the quantitative tools demonstrated that lumbar compression force exceeded the threshold limit of 3400 N. Moreover, qualitative tools such as RULA, NIOSH, and V3 indicated serious injury to the worker performing this task thus calling for both administrative and engineering interventions. In the whole-body vibration of forklift drivers, the ISO standard showed the necessity of interventions. After conducting investigations and simulations for each task, engineering and administrative interventions were proposed to minimize the risk of injury. Once these interventions were applied, risk assessments were redone using both quantitative and qualitative tools and a reduction in injury risk was noticed in all tasks
  9. Keywords:
  10. Occupational Biomechanic ; Risk Assessment ; Low Back Pain ; Spine ; Iran Khodro Company ; Musculoskeletal Injuries ; Administrative Interventions ; Engineering Interventions

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