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Participative development of an ergonomic tool for engineers designing light assembly work

van der Grinten, M.P. (author), Bosch, T. (author), van Rhijn, J.W. (author), Schoenmaker, N. (author), TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author)

conference paper 2006

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Is a participatory approach effective to stimulate using ergonomic measures?

van der Molen, H.F. (author), Sluiter, J.K. (author), Hulshof, C.T.J. (author), Vink, P. (author), van Duivenbooden, J.C. (author), Holman, R. (author), Frings-Dresen, M.H.W. (author), TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author)

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of a participatory ergonomics (PE) implementation strategy on the use of ergonomic measures reducing the physical work demands of construction work. The ergonomic measures consisted of adjusting working height (two measures) and mechanising the transport of materials (two measures). In a...

conference paper 2006

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Motivators and barriers for interventions at work

Koningsveld, E.A.P. (author), van der Molen, H.F. (author), TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author)

Ergonomical interventions are not automatically adapted by workers or implemented at construction sites. In order to be more successful with implementations in this sector, one must start with its specific characteristics. In this paper these are briefly described. Then several ergonomic interventions are analysed in order to find motivators and...

conference paper 2006

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Do work-related physical factors predict neck and upper limb symptoms in office workers?

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), van den Heuvel, S.G. (author), J. van der Beek, A. (author), Blatter, B.M. (author), Bongers, P.M. (author)

The objective of this study was to examine the influence of physical exposure at work on neck and upper limb symptoms in office workers. Data were used from a prospective cohort study with a follow-up period of 3 years. Independent variables were observed and self-reported physical exposure at work. Outcome measures were neck/shoulder symptoms...

conference paper 2006

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Physical capacity in relation to low back, neck, or shoulder pain in a working population

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Hamberg-van Rheenen, H.H. (author), J. van der Beek, A. (author), Blatter, B.M. (author), van Mechelen, W. (author), Bongers, P.M. (author)

In this prospective cohort study, 1789 Dutch workers participated. At baseline, isokinetic lifting strength, static endurance of the back, neck, and shoulder muscles, and mobility of the spine were measured, as well as potential confounders, including physical workload. Low back, neck,and shoulder pain were self-reported annually at baseline and...

conference paper 2006

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Changing workstyle: healthy behavior through feedback signals during computer work

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), de Korte, E.M. (author), de Kraker, H. (author), Bongers, P.M. (author), Lingen P. van, (author)

The aim of this study was to test whether feedback signals based on continuous monitoring of specific behaviour during computer work had effects on healthy work style of computer workers, without interrupting the work task. For this purpose an experiment was conducted with an intelligent computer mouse. Computer users frequently hover over their...

conference paper 2006

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Are software characteristics related to musculoskeletal disorders in computer workers?

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), de Kraker, H. (author), Lingen P. van, (author), Blatter, B.M. (author)

Intensive and long-lasting computer work increases the risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders. Usually the solution for preventing these complaints is found in hardware ergonomics. Until now, little attention has been paid to the role of software design and ergonomic software quality. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted to...

conference paper 2006

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Development process of a new masoner's trowel

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Kuijt-Evers, L.F.M. (author), Eikhout, S.M. (author)

This paper describes the participatory design process of a new bricklayer’s trowel. The process consisted of five steps: 1) identifying ergonomic problems, 2) generating ideas for new design, 3) evaluation of five test models, 4) Field-study to compare to prototypes with the traditional trowel en 5) Implementation of the new trowel. Masonry...

conference paper 2006

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Comfort and discomfort in using hand tools: the hand tool -user -task intervention

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Kuijt-Evers, L.F.M. (author)

The term comfort is very often used for marketing purposes in selling hand tools. Additionally, ergonomists and designers strive to avoid discomfort experience for end-users when using their product. However, there is no consensus about what comfort and discomfort mean in using hand tools. This paper gives an overview of recent studies which are...

conference paper 2006

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Test-retest reliability and intermethod agreement of a web-based questionnaire on work postures and workstation characteristics

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), IJmker, S. (author), Blatter, B.M. (author), J. van der Beek, A. (author), Mikkers, J. (author), van Mechelen, W. (author), Bongers, P.M. (author)

Questionnaires are widely used to assess for non-neutral work postures in order to prevent upper extremity disorders among office workers. From previous research we know that the agreement between questionnaires and objective measurements for assessi ng work postures and workstation characteristics among office workers is low. One of the...

conference paper 2006

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How to design software user interfaces to prevent musculoskeletal symptoms

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Lingen P. van, (author)

Static postures, repetitive movements and precision demands are causes for musculoskeletal disorders. Features in the design of user interfaces of software contribute to these risks. The user interface can increase risks of musculoskeletal disorders by forcing the user to repeat movements, to maintain static postures, to adopt awkward postures...

conference paper 2006

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Adaptive in-car user interfaces based on personalized workload estimation

TNO Defensie en Veiligheid (author), Neerincx, M. (author), Hoedemaeker, D.M. (author), de Gier, E. (author)

Based on recent research on workload scheduling and personalization, we developed a personal electronic driver assistant that mediates the interactions between the driver and in-car services in order to prevent overload. Whereas other approaches for overload prevention often focus on specific workload sources (e.g. phone calls), our assistant...

conference paper 2006

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The productivity and work load in flexible production systems

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), van Rhijn, J.W. (author), de Looze, M.P. (author), Schoenmaker, N. (author), Bosch, T. (author), van Deursen, J. (author)

A negative aspect of serial flow production systems is its lack of flexibility. Other production systems like the flexing flow and the shopping system are more flexible as the number of workers can be easily adjusted to temporal demands. But how efficient are these flexible systems? In a laboratory experiment we studied the worker’s productivity...

conference paper 2006

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Increase in productivity and comfort by applying participatory ergonomics: 8 succes factors

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Vink, P. (author), Koningsveld, E.A.P. (author), Molenbroek, J.F. (author), van Eijk, D.J. (author)

Based on literature at least 8 factors could be established that play a role in being successful in a participatory ergonomics project. These factors are structured in a reasoning model. The model distinguishes the success factors in ‘goal', ‘involvement’ and ‘process’. Goals: in the literature evidence is found that a positive approach has its...

conference paper 2006

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Development of fatigue in trapezius muscle during light manual assembly work

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Bosch, T. (author), de Looze, M.P. (author), van Dieën, J.H. (author)

Optimisation of the temporal aspects of the task design requires a better understanding of the development of muscle fatigue in the neck and shoulder region over time. Our objective was to investigate the development of muscle fatigue and to determine the relationship between objective and subjective estimates of fatigue in two production...

conference paper 2006

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Costs and benefits of interventions related to key performance indicators

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Jongkind, R. (author), Oeij, P.R.A. (author), Vink, P. (author)

An ergonomic intervention is regarded as an investment, which has to be worthwhile and lead to added value for an organisation. In business, key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to measure the extend to which certain economic goals, in terms of added value, are being achieved. These indicators often differ from sector to sector and from...

conference paper 2006

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Fatigue effects on tracking performance

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Huysmans, M.A. (author), Hoozemans, M. (author), van der Beek, A.J. (author), de Looze, M.P. (author), van Dieën, J.H. (author)

The objective of the present study was to test the effect of fatigue on task performance in a tracking task performed with a computer mouse. Participants performed a two-minute tracking task twice before and once immediately after a fatiguing wrist extension protocol. Results indicate that the mean distance to the centre of the target and the...

conference paper 2006

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Recommendations for sufficient physical activity at work: promoting physical activity in low intensity static jobs

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Commissaris, D.A.C.M. (author), Douwes, M. (author), Schoenmaker, N. (author), de Korte, E.M. (author)

Many contemporary work tasks are characterised by little or no physical activity. This pertains to the whole body as well as specific areas such as neck and shoulders. Too little whole body physical activity is generally known to increase the risk of chronic diseases like vascular disorders and diabetes. Low-intensity tasks of static nature are...

conference paper 2006

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Contact pressure measurement in hand tool evaluation studies

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Kuijt-Evers, L.F.M. (author), Bosch, T. (author)

In hand tool evaluation studies, several objective measurements are used. Grip force distribution and grip force are important as they give feedback about the force which has to be performed with the hand on the handle. A measurement technique -which is related to grip force measurement- is contact pressure on the hand surface. With a hand mat...

conference paper 2006

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The future of intelligent manufacturing systems and human factors

TNO Kwaliteit van Leven (author), Vink, P. (author), Stahre, J. (author)

In this paper the results of a 3 year European project are described. In this project 20 experts in the field of human factors define the most promising way of using the European work force in manufacturing in the future. Based on discussions between the experts and participating companies and literature, research needs for the coming 10 years...

conference paper 2006