Diagnosis and Ergonomic Design of Oxy Gas Welding Workstation by RULA Method. Case Study: Welding Workshops

Working under non-ergonomic situations can cause physical damage. It's compulsory for the students of almost every engineering discipline to do parts of their training activitiy in various workshops including welding workstations; needless to say, the paucity of appropriate situations in such workshops may lead to physical injuries. On the other hand, ergonomic design of workstations can be considered a way to keep human health. The purpose of this study is an investigation onthe application of ergonomic solutions in the design of workstations and Working situation improvement in oxy gaseous welding workshops.

In this study, workstations of the welding workshops in one of the public universities were selected as the case studies. To carry out a more accurate evaluation of the workshop environment, assessment of the work environment (FIOH MSD) has been used as method. The critical indicators of the current status of workstations were analyzed, using the CATIA V5 R21 software, the RULA method, and the proposed solutions.

The results of the RULA clearly indicate a serious need to workstations's reform and Improve their level of safety. The Risk levels for the left and right hands were 6 and 7, which were decrease to 3 and 4 after redesigning the workplace and reforming its situations.

Studies and assessment indicate that during welding activities, postures of people cause serious injuries to various parts of the body, especially the spine and neck. Therefore, workplace redesigning that is based on sit-stand workstation standards can be a suitable solution to correct the posture of people in oxy gas welding workshops.Workstation redesigned involve some features such a increasing the dexterity and delicacy during welding and the proper use of Inclusive Design factors to adjust the height of table, chair and the angle of table surface.