• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.413-423
• /
• 2016

Objective:The aims of this study are to understand the effects of task (pushing, pulling, and clockwise and counter clockwise twisting) direction on the maximal output and their grip forces and to explore the relationship between the maximal output and the grip forces. Background: Knowing the normative maximal grip force is not enough to design a good hand tool. The industrial designers should understand the required grip forces in various motions toward a specific direction to make an effective and efficient hand tool. Method: Eighteen healthy volunteers participated in the series of isometric maximal output force tests. A custom-made force measuring equipment collected the output and the grip forces for three seconds. Force measurements along the vertical, coronal and sagittal axes were randomly repeated three times. Results: The pulling was strongest and the pushing was weakest in all directions. The effect of motion on the output forces varied in different directions. The corresponding grip force increased in the order of pushing, pulling, clockwise twisting, and counter clockwise twisting in all directions. The maximal output and their grip forces were highly correlated but the relationship was affected by motion and direction. The regression coefficient was greatest in pulling and smallest in clockwise twisting. Conclusion: The effect of motion on the output forces varied in different directions. The maximal output and their grip forces were correlated but the relationship was affected by motion and direction. Application: Findings of this study can be valuable information for industrial designers to develop more productive hand tools and work stations to help preventing the musculoskeletal disorders at work.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.371-378
• /
• 2014

Manual materials handling tasks are the main risk factors for the work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Many assistant tools for manual materials handling are being used in various kind of industries. One of them is a 4-wheeled cart which is widely used in manufacturing factories, hospitals, etc. The major force required to control the 4-wheeled cart is pushing and pulling. There are two types of handles being used for the 4-wheeled cart : vertical type (two vertical handles), and horizontal type (one horizontal handle). This study tried to investigate the pushing forces and subjective discomforts (hand/writst, shoulder, low back, and overall) of the two handle types with different handle height and distance conditions. Twelve healthy male students (mean age = 23.4 years) participated in the experiment. The independent variables were handle angle (horizontal, vertical), handle height (low, medium, high), and handle distance (narrow, medium, wide). The full factorial design was used for the experiment and the maximum pushing forces were measured in 18 different conditions ($2{\times}3{\times}3$). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure was conducted to test the effects of the independent variables on the pushing force and discomfort levels. Handle height and angle were found to be the critical design factors that affect the maximal pushing forces and subjective discomfort. In the middle height, subjects exerted higher pushing forces, and experience lower discomfort levels compared to the high, and low height. There was no statistical influence of the handle distance to the pushing forces and subjective discomfort levels. It was found out that the effects of the handle angle (horizontal and vertical) on both pushing force and subjective discomfort were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The vertical handle revealed higher pushing force and lower discomfort level than the horizontal handle. The reason for that was thought to be the different postures of the hand when grasping the handles. The horizontal handle induced pronaton of the hand and made hand posture more deviated from the neutral position.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.349-357
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the performance of dancing motions depending on the level of skill by investigating pulmonary functions, ground reaction force, and jerk cost. The subjects of this study were 12 professional dancers (career: 16 yrs) and 12 amateur dancers (career: 9 yrs) who had similar physical conditions. We selected four motion phases which included the diagonal line motion, the deep flexion motion, the breath motion, and the turn motion with one leg after a small step walking motion, with Goodguri Jangdan. In the experiment, 6 infrared cameras were installed in order to analyze the value of the jerk costs and the force plate form. Finally, we measured the pulmonary functions of the subjects. For data analysis, independent t-tests according to each event, were carried out in the data processing. According to the results of FVC % Predicted, the professional dancers showed greater lung capacities than the amateur dancers, indicating that the level of dancing skill influences lung capacity. Based on the result of the balance test, the professional dancers used more vertical power than did the amateur dancers when performing maximal flexion motion. The professional dancers used a propulsive force of pushing their body forward by keeping the center of body higher while the amateur dancers used a braking power by keeping their bodies backward. When performing medial-lateral movements, the amateur dancers were less stable than the professional dancers. There were no differences in values of jerk costs between the amateur dancers and the professional dancers.