Effects of the Angle of Approaching a Spot for a Manufacturing Action on Whole-Body Orientation and Position

In general manufacturing consists of a sequence of actions on different spots. Depending on the sequence, workers may have to approach a spot from varying angles. The purpose of the study conducted was to describe the whole-body orientation and position when approaching a spot for a manufacturing action from five different angles, starting several meters away. Eight subjects were instructed to perform three different actions (knob rotating, pneumatic wrenching, and button pressing) at six working height s (between ankle height and eye height). The actions were selected for their varying level of constraint at the subject-environment interface. Amongst others, it was disclosed that there is a linear relationship between the final whole-body orientation (while performing the action) and the initial approach angle (while being on the starting position, directed to the manufacturing spot). Furthermore, a translation effect was found, showing that, when approaching from the right side, right-handed subjects position themselves more to the left of the straight line between their initial position and the spot for the manufacturing action. The results of the study may be used for proactive ergonomic assessments of manufacturing environments, allowing the user of a digital human model to accurately and efficiently be able to simulate realistic human motions and action sequences.