1,721,100 research outputs found
Integrating ergonomics and lean manufacturing principles in a hybrid assembly line
No full textLean manufacturing is a production method that was established in the wake of the Japanese Toyota Production System and rapidly established in the worldwide manufacturing industry. Lean characteristics combine just-in-time practices, work-in-progress and waste reduction, improvement strategies, defect-free production, and standardization. The primary goal of lean thinking is to improve profits and create value by minimizing waste. This study introduces a novel mathematical model to design lean processes in hybrid assembly lines. The aim was to provide an effective, efficient assembly line design tool that meets the lean principles and ergonomic requirements of safe assembly work. Given the production requirements, product characteristics and assembly tasks, the model defines the assembly process for hybrid assembly lines with both manual workers and automated assembly machines. Each assembly line solution ensures an acceptable risk level of repetitive movements, as required by current law. This model helps managers and practitioners to design hybrid assembly lines with both manual workers and automated assembly machines. The model was tested in a case study of an assembly line for hard shell tool cases. Results show that worker ergonomics is a key parameter of the assembly process design, as other lean manufacturing parameters, e.g. takt time, cycle time and work in progress
Learn from the past and act for the future: A holistic and participative approach for improving occupational health and safety in industry
No full textThe European working population is significantly ageing. This trend is expected to increase in the next years. In this context, occupational health and safety strategies need to evolve, developing return-to-work procedures and workplace modifications to avoid long-term sickness absence and early retirement. Safety management strategies should consider age related factors, so that every worker, regardless of age, feels safe and committed to reach personal and corporate goals. This study proposes a holistic approach based on a participatory methodology to identify the causes of workplace hazards and to improve occupational health and safety in industry. The first step supports the identification of the root causes of accidents and injuries. The second step involves the participation of the workers in the analysis of the consequences and the causes of safety issues in their workplace. The last step investigates the process deficiencies that may impact on the safety performances of the work system. The participatory technique adopted in this paper is the focus group with the workers, based on the fault tree analysis method. The findings suggest that the causes of unsafe work conditions may be the result of inefficiencies and deficits in the work process. The proposed approach allows multiple benefits, including an increased commitment of the workers and an improved safety culture within the organization. Such improvements are critical, especially when a relevant part of the workforce includes aged workers with multiple years of experience with the investigated tasks and, consequently, prolonged time of exposure to the same risk factors
Accidents at work: an insight into logistics operations
No full textThe logistics industry ensures the delivery and storage of goods and materials around the world, covering both the distribution and the warehousing sectors of every industry. The injury rate of the logistics industry is notable and above the average compared to other industries. The high accident rate of the logistics industry is partly due to the significant weight and size of some of the items handled and the vehicles and equipment required to handle them. Also, logistics entails workers moving between different work areas or sites during the day, each of which have many different safety measures, procedures, and approaches to risk management. This paper introduces a structured analysis of occupational accidents that occurred during logistics operations. The investigation includes more than 900 fatal and serious accidents that occurred in Italy between 2002 and 2016, involving workers from the logistics industry. The findings show that the contact of the injured worker with moving objects or vehicles, the variation of movement of the vehicle or transport system, and the falling of objects from above were the most common types of accidents that occurred in logistics. Industrial trucks were the most frequent risk factors that triggered the investigated events. Material handling was the activity that the injured workers were usually performing when the accidents occurred. The leading apparent causes of accidents were the voluntary adoption of an improper procedure, e.g. the bypass of a risk control measure, and the misplacement of the worker. The lack of training appears to be the leading root cause of the investigated events
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