ABSTRACT
Physical loading on the human motor system at work is a direct consequence of workstation and workplace conditions, as well as work system organization. Th e most effi cient way to shape the various work system components would be to address them at the design stage, when functional requirements and system limitations can be considered most eff ectively. It is much more diffi cult to correct any limitations aft er the systems, especially large or complex systems, have already been designed (Karwowski, 2005). First attempts to model the human body and its relevant characteristics for system design purposes date as early as the 1970s (i.e., Ryan et al., 1970; Ryan, 1971; Kroemer, 1973; Bonney et al., 1974). Rapid advances in personal computers facilitated applications of computer-aided design (CAD) techniques and stimulated development of a variety of concepts and frameworks for modeling the human body. Such models include, for example, COMBIMAN (Kroemer, 1973; Evans, 1976; McDaniel, 1990), Sammie (Bonney et al., 1974, 1982; Case et al., 1990; Porter, 1992; Feeney et al., 2000), Apolin (Grobelny, 1988; Grobelny et al., 1992), Crew Chief (McDaniel, 1990), Ergoshape (Launis & Lehtelä, 1990, 1992), Heiner (Schaub & Rohmert, 1990), Safework (Fortin et al., 1990), Tadaps (Westerink et al., 1990), Werner (Kloke, 1990), Apolinex (Grobelny & Karwowski, 1994, 2000), Ramsis (Seidl, 1994, 1997; Bubb, 1998; Marach & Bubb, 2000; Bubb et al., 2006), Jack (Badler et al., 1995; UGS, 2004), Human (Sengupta & Das, 1997), Anthropos (Lippmann, 2000; Bauer et al., 2000; IST, 2002), and others. A comparison of such systems was discussed by Dooley (1982), Rothwell (1985), Karwowski et al. (1990), Porter et al. (1992), Hanson (2000), Wolfer (2000), Chaffi n (2001), and Laurenceau (2001).
