Affiliations: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Rolando Quintana, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave, El Paso, TX 79968-0521, USA. E-mail: Quintana@me.utep.edu
Abstract: The effects of lack of equipment adjustability on nominal ranges of motion of upper body limbs for industrial sewing operations were studied, with a particular focus on Mexican-American males. Key upper body-segments of an industrial sewing operation were marked and analyzed using cinematography for a random pool of male workers descending from northern Mexico. Experimental results revealed that the worker's posture was affected by the adjustability of the sewing equipment, which was designed for the 5th to the 95th percentile of the US population. The awkward postures in turn affected the mean angular range of motion for the body-segments studied. As a result, there was a significant percentage of the available pool of worker's that may face occupational disorders, in spite of the fact that the equipment is adjustable, albeit from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the US population. These findings are particularly important to companies whose workforce is predominantly from populations that do not fit the US population profile. An adjustability index tool was developed as an equipment purchase/design tool that quantifies the percentage of the available pool of workers at risk of occupational disorders due to improper postures resulting from lack of adjustability. Finally, a cost framework is presented for choosing equipment that minimizes internal and external costs associated with equipment adjustability.
Keywords: Mexican-American population, anthropometry, equipment adjustability, work design, work evaluation
