ABSTRACT
Incorporation of ergonomic principles into the design of both new products and downstream manufacturing operations has seldom been practiced on a proactive basis. In the majority of cases, ergonomics/human factors engineers have not been consulted until the cost of industrial injuries (mostly due to CTDs) has skyrocketed. Moreover, ergonomic input has been limited to downstream operations. Thus, the product design process has traditionally been performed in an isolated environment, utilizing the “throwover-the-fence” method. Manufacturing must accept the product as designed, and develop an assembly process that meets both design and managerial constraints. When injuries begin to increase at a high rate, and productivity and quality have been severely reduced, the ergonomics/human factors engineer is called in on an ad hoc basis.
