Ergonomics and workplace design for industrialized construction

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Industrialized construction is a powerful strategy to solve several issues in traditional construction, specifically in the areas of cost, risk, and waste. In industrialized construction, rather than spending a significant amount of time onsite, workers work in a controlled factory environment. However, many aspects of the industrialized construction process still involve excessive physical exertion and are potentially injurious. Additionally, to achieve maximum profits, continuous improvements are required in operational production flow as well as workplace design and operational tasks. These changes and improvements may cause work-related ergonomic issues to be overlooked, which in addition to the physical exertion required, may contribute to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) or non-fatal injuries. Additionally, according to the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada, in 2016 $240 million worth of lost time claims were made, of which manufacturing and construction made up 24.32%. It is therefore crucial to carry out proactive ergonomic risk assessments to avoid potential WMSDs and injuries. Several avenues exist for improvement of the physical conditions of workspaces that can result in increased safety and productivity. Over the next five years, the proposed research program will develop a systematic ergonomic risk assessment and introduce changes to production processes, to improve productivity and safety in industrial construction. The long-term objective of the proposed research program is to proactively reduce the workplace injuries and claims and improve productivity by bringing ergonomic thinking into workplace design. The program has four short-term objectives: (1) investigate a systematic physical and psychological demand analysis to assess the demands of operational tasks on workers; (2) propose an intelligent, predetermined motion time system for the operational tasks of industrialized construction and to further assess productivity of the workplace; (3) develop a rapid ergonomic risk assessment system to identify, quantify and eliminate the ergonomic risks of operational tasks; and (4) develop comprehensive ergonomics and productivity assessment and management systems. The outcome of this research will contribute to the integration of ergonomic thinking in workplace design. The early application of the ergonomic and productivity assessments will improve workplace design and reduce costs for Canada's construction sector.