Postural risk assessment and motion capture to improve the ergonomics of a workstation
Résumé
The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) “range
from those that arise suddenly and are short-lived, such as fractures, sprains, and strains, to
lifelong conditions associated with ongoing pain and disability” [1]. These conditions can man-
ifest in individuals of any age and across global populations. They carry significant economic
implications, leading to a decline in work efficiency and adversely impacting the well-being of
those affected.
The "Regional Occupational Health Plan 2022-2025" for the Occitanie region mentions sev-
eral figures to illustrate the necessity of placing health and prevention at the heart of work
in the region: MSD represent 80% of recognized occupational diseases; 71% of employees are
exposed to postural and articular constraints; 32% of employees are exposed to one or more
chemicals regardless of their sector of activity. As for the statistical service responsible for
labor, employment, and vocational training within the public statistical system (DARES), its
analysis No. 031 from August 2022 lists the thresholds above which exposure can be qualified
as "onerous" (according to the Medical Surveillance of Employees’ Exposure to Occupational
Risks (SUMER) survey from 2017). However, it specifies that most quantification methods are
based on medical investigators’ expertise and employees’ perceptions [2].
We focus on identifying and automatically calculating ergonomic risks in this context and
this preliminary work. First, we conduct a literature review on a well-known method called
“REBA". Then, we use motion capture to analyze the human motion and calculate the REBA
score automatically