Development of a tool for an integrative age-differentiated workload analysis
With regard to the challenges imposed on industrial enterprises by the demographic change, the age-differentiated design of workplaces combined with a corresponding assignment of employees becomes more important. Science has not yet found enough validated and practicable solutions to help industry in managing their production systems taking into account ageing workforces. The Darmstadt Institute of Ergonomics works on a long-term research with the intention to develop an assistance system for age-differentiated work design and employee assignment focusing on physical work. A tool for ergonomic analysis of physical demands and capabilities has been developed at the IAD, which enables a profile comparison. The capability ratings are based on an extensive examination of individuals. The capability testing contains a comprehensive medical examination, a work anamnesis as well as questionnaires about work-related physical disorders, subjectively perceived work-related strain and a short version of the ‘Work Ability Index. It also includes different specifically designed tests for a standardized assessment of industry-relevant physical capabilities, like being able to work in awkward body postures. Preliminary results from a pretest with the capability testing procedure indicate no “big differences between the two age groups studied (20-35 yrs and 45-65 yrs), but statistical analysis was not possible due to small sample size. The examination of capabilities to exert forces in 270 workers from automotive industry revealed significant differences between three distinct age groups (19-35 yrs, 36-44 yrs and 45-60 yrs) for arm and whole body forces as well as finger and hand forces. Regarding arm and whole body forces, twelve of 54 cases of force exertion revealed significant age-related differences. For finger and hand forces only two out of 38 cases showed significant differences between the age groups. Nevertheless the findings have to be considered for age-differentiated ergonomic work design. A tool for an age-differentiated analysis of workload at workplaces in automotive industry based on work-and age-related “bottlenecks will be developed. These bottlenecks are discrepancies between physical demands of analyzed industrial workplaces and physical capabilities of the examined worker populations. They can be used for an effective age-differentiated design of work systems as part of a sustainable age management concept in industrial companies.
age management physical capabilities musculoskeletal disorders
Holger Rademacher Andrea Sinn-Behrendt Kurt Landau Ralph Bruder
Institute of Ergonomics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Darmstadt University of Technology,Da Institute of Ergonomics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Darmstadt University of Technology, D
国际会议
17th World Congress on Ergonomics(第十七届国际人类工效学大会)
北京
英文
1-7
2009-08-09（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）