Advancing digital human modeling and work simulation methods for proactive ergonomics assessments

与工作有关的肌肉骨骼疾病给加拿大社会造成了巨大的财政负担。在主动的人体工程学过程中，数字人体模型（DHM）或虚拟人体化身可以插入到工作场所的计算机渲染中，使工程师和人体工程学家能够在工作任务元素和产品设计的可行性和安全性之前分析它们在现实中存在。积极主动的工作模拟是一种具有成本效益的方法，以尽量减少伤害相关的和重新设计的费用在生产周期的后期，但人体工程学工具内DHMs目前受到限制，缺乏基本知识的职业相关的人的能力。 因此，我的研究计划的长期目标是通过DHM工作模拟中的人体工程学强度和疲劳评估工具的增强来减少昂贵的工作相关的肌肉骨骼疾病。 我的研究计划的短期目标是：1）了解各种职业相关场景和工人群体中的人力能力; 2）研究瞬态因素（如神经肌肉疲劳）如何影响职业力量能力; 3）在DHM模拟框架内不断更新人力能力的预测模型。 我的实验室的具体研究方法包括一系列的活体实验室研究，调查诸如性别、年龄、肢体优势和动态用力等因素如何影响手臂力量（目标1）。我们还将评估在相对于当前可接受的人体工程学限值的暴露水平范围内执行重复性手动力方案时的瞬时肌肉疲劳反应（目标2）。在这些目标中，我们将同时验证和更新模拟输出，与目标1和2的实验结果，以进一步提高我们预测任何理论职业场景和工作模拟中可接受的力限值的能力（目标3）。 我的研究计划将产生短期和长期的结果：a）有助于我们对人类力量能力和职业肌肉疲劳的基本知识，同时B）同时促进直接影响和知识转移，以增强DHM和工业工程过程中的工作模拟能力的形式。我的研究计划的另一个目标是在职业人体工程学领域培养高素质的受训人员，他们将在高度协作的实验室研究环境中工作，并与汽车和DHM软件行业的工业合作伙伴合作并将其研究转化为工业合作伙伴。开发强大的人类能力和表现的预测模型代表了积极主动的工作模拟的保真度的令人兴奋的进步，并致力于减少工伤及其对加拿大工业和社会的重大情感和经济负担的长期目标。

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders cause a tremendous financial burden to Canadian society. In a proactive ergonomics process, digital human models (DHMs), or virtual human avatars, can be inserted into computerized renderings of the workplace, allowing engineers & ergonomists to analyze the feasibility and safety of work task elements and product designs before they ever exist in reality. Proactive work simulation represents a cost-effective approach to minimize injury-related and redesign expenses late in the production cycle, but the ergonomics tools within DHMs are currently restricted by a lack of fundamental knowledge on occupationally-relevant human capability. As such, the long-term goal of my research program is to reduce costly work-related musculoskeletal disorders through the enhancement of ergonomics strength and fatigue assessment tools within DHM work simulation. The short-term objectives of my research program are to: 1) Understand human strength capability in a variety of occupationally-relevant scenarios and worker populations; 2) Study how transient factors, such as neuromuscular fatigue, affect occupational strength capability; and 3) Continually update predictive models of human capability within DHM simulation frameworks. My lab's specific research approach involves a series of in vivo laboratory studies investigating how manual arm strength is affected by factors such as sex, age, limb dominance and dynamic exertions (Obj. 1). We will also evaluate the transient muscle fatigue response when repetitive, manual force protocols are performed at a range of exposure levels relative to current acceptable ergonomics limits (Obj. 2). During these objectives, we will simultaneously validate and update simulation outputs, with experimental results from Obj. 1 & 2, to further enhance our capacity to predict acceptable force limits in any theoretical occupational scenario and work simulation (Obj. 3). My research program will produce short- and long-term outcomes that: a) contribute to our fundamental knowledge of human strength capability and occupational muscle fatigue, while b) concurrently facilitating immediate impact and knowledge transfer in the form of enhanced DHM and work simulation capability in the industrial engineering process. Another goal of my research program is to produce highly qualified trainees in the field of occupational ergonomics, who will work in a highly collaborative laboratory-based research environment and gain exposure working with and translating their research to industrial partners in the automotive and DHM software industries. Developing robust predictive models of human capability and performance represents an exciting advancement in the fidelity of proactive work simulation and works towards the long-term goal of reducing workplace injuries and their substantial emotional and financial burden to Canadian industry and society.