Examining the relationship between human factors related quality risk factors and work related musculoskeletal disorder risk factors in manufacturing

This study addresses the relationship between human factors (HF) related quality deficits in manufacturing and work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WMSD) risk factors in production staff. A recent systematic review identified 60 HF-related quality risk factors (QRFs) in manufacturing related to product, process and workstation design stages. We investigate the extent to which these identified QRFs are also WMSD risk factors. Each QRF was examined for its relationship with WMSD using a 0 (no relationship) to 10 (strong relationship) scale rubric. The authors rated each QRF separately and then discussed and adjusted their ratings in a review session. Results showed that average median ratings were the highest for QRFs related to product design (8/10), intermediate for QRFs related to workstation design (7/10) and the lowest for QRFs related to process design (5/10). This emphasises the significant role of HF in system design in reducing both quality deficits and risk of developing WMSDs for manufacturing personnel. Practitioner summary: This study investigates whether human-related risk factors for product quality are also risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders in manufacturing. Results showed a substantial relationship between quality risk factors and WMSD risk factors. This indicates the significant role of human factors in operations design in improving both system performance and human wellbeing.