Workload evaluation of industrial work: existing methods and practical applications

International audienceThe aim of this paper is to provide a study of the existing methods and devices to be put into practice for the workplace analysis in terms of workload evaluation. In fact, the design of the workplace can impact on the physical fatigue and discomfort perceived by workers, resulting in the reduction of work quality and the increasing of tasks time. In addition, the repetition of activities which imply awkward postures with considerable impact on fatigue can lead in a long-term to a higher probability of injuries and to the reduction of workers capability in performing the activity. In this paper, we put in evidence how existing methods for workload evaluation can be applied both during the pre-design stage and for the improvement of the existing workplaces. The value of this work is to provide companies of an overall view of all the existing workload evaluations, developed formulations and devices to be used for predicting the impact of the tasks workload on operators and consequently on the system performance. This knowledge helps decision-makers in determining the most effective design-level decisions. Finally, some practical examples of pushing, pulling and carrying activities evaluation are given putting in evidence the output that such devices can give to a practitioner