Development of a Upper Body Micropostural Classification Scheme Based on Perceived Joint Discomfort

인체 관절 동작의 지각 불편도에 근거한 상체의 자세 분류 체계의 개발

It is important to identify and evaluate poor working postures properly to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study is to develope a new upper body micropostural classification scheme for analyzing postural stress in industry. Most of the existing postural classification schemes were based either on the literature, or on simple biomechanical principles, or on a subjective ranking system. The scheme suggested in this study was based on perceived joint discomfort measured through experiment, in which nineteen subjects participated and the magnitude estimation method was employed to obtain subjects' joint discomfort. Also, the criteria for evaluating postural stress of working postures were presented for practitioners of health and safety to be able to redesign working methods and workplaces, which was based on maximum holding time by Miedema and other people. It is expected that the scheme developed in this study could be used as a valuable tool when evaluating working postures.