Comparison of Working Postures among Students in School Workshop: A CAD Environment Analysis

Abstract:

School furniture was known to be among main contributor of students back pain and bad postures. However, most studies focused only on the furniture in classroom compared to other facilities in school. Therefore, this study took the initiative to assess students working postures in school workshop. The objective of this study was to evaluate postural stress of students using RULA method in CATIA. Actual working process was recorded and tasks performed were translated into human model for ergonomic analysis. This evaluation was done in CAD environment via Human Activity Analysis. Result showed the male students have a higher average RULA score compared to the female students. This study discovered that the current workstation was unsuitable for both genders. Both genders have an average scores of more than 5, which indicated changes are required soon. This paper also presented a recommended design of a workstation to reduce musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) symptom and contribute to total back pain prevention for growing adolescents.

• Periodical: Advanced Engineering Forum (Volume 10)
• Pages: 199-206
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AEF.10.199
• Online since: December 2013
• Authors: Adila Md Hashim*, Siti Zawiah Md. Dawal
• Keywords: CATIA, Gender, RULA, School Workshop, Workstation

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