A cost-benefit ergonomics methodology applied to service industry with digital human modelling

Diverse authors have shown the influence and importance that ergonomics has on the optimisation and improvement of processes quality and management, and in company business strategies. This paper intends to show the advantages that can arise by joining an ergonomic project methodology with a continuous improvement procedure unified with a cost-benefit analysis with the help of digital human modelling (DHM) tools in any service industry. The aim of this study particularises this continuous improvement methodology in an industrial laundry workplace, identifying and analysing the work related musculoskeletal disorders with risk assessment methods together with 3D CAD design and DHM. It also performs a cost-benefit analysis as a systematic process, in order to continuously improve ergonomic design of existence or future workplaces. The implementation offered good results, obtaining safer and more efficient workplaces and therefore it can be assured that it can be extrapolated to different work scenarios. [Received 30 July 2012; Revised 7 August 2012; Revised 11 November 2012; Accepted 19 February 2013]