In most industries,
musculoskeletal injuries are the most common work-related reason for employee
absences. These injuries are often caused by static postures or repetitive
movements that have to be maintained for many hours a day, such as intensive use
of data entry devices, assembly work, parts inspection, equipment maintenance,
manual materials handling, machinery operations, and vehicle operation, among
others. In order to prevent such injuries, occupational health professionals,
ergonomists, production engineers, and product designers need to know how to
evaluate postures and movements, and understand how these are determined by the
work environment, as well as what design tools are available to achieve less
stressful working postures and movements.
Working Postures and Movements describes many internationally accepted
evaluation tools applicable to postures and movements in the work environment.
Renowned researchers from around the world have brought together the latest
scientific knowledge describing the anthropometry, biomechanics, physiology,
psychophysics, and human perceptual-motor control basis for posture and movement
assessment related to all the major body segments. The book addresses seating
concepts, hand tool and pedal designs, foot-floor interfaces, digital human
models for computer-aided design and engineering, and work organization (task
duration, breaks, handling frequency) as they affect human performance and
musculoskeletal injury reduction.
Professionals responsible for identifying and improving conditions in the
industries where such workplace injuries occur will find this volume to be a
handy sourcebook, while teachers and students will find it to be a valuable
reference