Abstract EN:

The manual assembly process is one of the last phases of the production in which components, parts, and sub-assemblies are joined together to obtain the final product. To reduce the costs and time required to obtain the final product, the set of processes and activities is divided into different dedicated areas, called assembly stations, where, in each of them, there are one or more dedicated operators. During this process, the human factor plays a fundamental role since the efficiency of the entire system and the quality of the finished product are directly attributable to it. However, operators are not always included in work contexts that allow them to work in optimal conditions and, consequently, work accidents, periods of illness, and the presence of chronic physical disorders increase. These aspects have adverse consequences both on the workers themselves and on the companies by causing absenteeism, workforce turnover and higher costs. To ameliorate working places, during lasts decades academics focused their attention on improving conditions and workstations by integrating some of the classic ergonomic standards during or after the design of manual assembly systems. In such a background, the present dissertation aims at proposing a set of innovative and easily applicable methods and procedures during the design of manual assembly lines. These approaches will integrate the human factor considering the fatigue associated with the execution of activities and the recovery time necessary to return to optimal working conditions. Another aspect that will be treated will be the exposure for prolonged periods to vibrations produced by commonly used tools in the assembly.