The home should represent safety and security for the person who lives there, and this is an important factor for independence and autonomy in very old age. With aging populations, the needs for long-term care increase, care provided by spouses and/or from the growing home care sector. Injuries among these groups are common. In this study, an ergonomics perspective was applied in the analysis of some basic daily activities performed by old persons and by home care workers, assisting. The postures and movements of home care staff assisting at toilet visits, and transferring persons from wheelchair to toilet, were measured and analysed. Some daily activities related to making food and washing clothes, performed by a group of persons between the age of 75 and 100, were measured and analysed. The task of getting up from the floor – on your own and with the help of a walker equipped with a lifting device – was analysed with the help of older persons and nursing staff. The design was built on the knowledge gained from analysing how older people get up from floor. Requirements for access with a four-wheeled walker in the local built environment were investigated. Observations were made with the help of video recording. Postures were recorded with the CUELA measurement system. The VIDAR ergonomics evaluation instrument was used to register the participants’ experiences of discomfort and pain during getting up from the floor with or without the walker with a lifting device. Structured interviews were used to find out about older peoples’ experience of using the four-wheel walker. It is concluded that ageing at home requires improved architectural and technical bathroom design and improved access in the local built environment. / <p>QC 20140124</p>

En av park- och gatuarbetarnas många verktyg, är den traditionella sopkvasten. Sopkvasten används för att städa upp ytor där maskiner inte kommer åt, såsom; under bänkar, i hörn och mindre områden. Vid användning av en traditionell sopkvast innefattar rörelsen rotation och framåtlutning av kroppsställningen, som kan om den utförs under en längre tidsperiod leda till muskuloskeletala besvär och ha negativa effekter på hälsan. Detta projekt syftar till att utveckla ett nytt rengöringsverktyg för att minska framåtlutad, roterad kroppsställning. Denna avhandling har använt en produktutvecklingsmetodik och en biomekanisk analys för att uppfylla en faktabas för att nå målet. Översyn av litteratur, biomekanisk analys och benchmarking användes för att ställa in kravspecifikationer för detta projekt. Projektet tillämpade David G Ullman iterativ produktutvecklingsmetodik, inklusive brainstorming, Quality Function Deployment, Morfologi, Pugh's matris och Failure Mode Effects Analysis. Vidare har en fungerande prototyp byggts som ett sista steg i utvecklingsfasen. Utvärdering av prototypen i jämförelse med den traditionella sopkvasten, utfördes med hjälp av 3D rörelseanalys (Qualisys motion capture-system) och ytelektromyografi (Mega 8-kanalsystem) på en testperson. Projektet resulterade i en fysiskt fungerande prototyp som kan användas till liknande uppgifter som en traditionell sopkvast. Prototypen påtvingar användaren att skjuta rengöringsverktyget framför kroppen med en symmetrisk kroppställning i alla tre planen. Jämförelsen mellan en traditionell sopkvast och prototypen visade en minskning i muskelaktivitet vid användning av prototypen. Dessutom visade rörelseanalysen att arbetsställningen var mindre framåtlutad och roterad i ryggen. Vidare kunde testpersonen hålla neutrala vinklar i axlar och handleder under hela utförandet av uppgiften. Märk väl att de biomekaniska analyserna enbart gjorts på en deltagare vilket inte är tillräckligt för att konstatera att prototypen bidrar till en mer hälsosam arbetsställning. / One of the park and street workers many tools, is the traditional broom. The broom is used to tidy up surfaces where machines can’t reach, such as; underneath benches, in corners and smaller areas. Using a traditional broom requires a twisted and forward leaning body posture that, if performed during an extended time period, can result in musculoskeletal problems and negative impact on the health. This project aimed to develop a new cleaning tool to reduce the forward-leaning, twisted body posture. This thesis used a product development methodology and a biomechanical analysis to fulfil, and evidence base the aim. Review of the literature, biomechanical analysis and benchmarking were used to set requirement specifications for this project. The project applied David G Ullman's iterative product development methodology, including brainstorming, quality function deployment, morphology, Pugh´s matrix and a failure mode effects analysis. Furthermore, a functional prototype was built as a last step of the development phase. Evaluation of the prototype, in comparison to the traditional broom, was performed using 3D movement analysis (Qualisys motion capture system) and surface electromyography (Mega 8 channel system) on one test person. The project resulted in a physically functional prototype that can be used for similar tasks as a traditional broom. The concept design dictates the user to push the cleaning tool in front of the body with postural symmetry in all three planes. The comparison between a traditional broom and the prototype showed a reduction in muscle activity when using the prototype. Furthermore, the movement analysis showed a working posture with less forward leaning and back rotation. Furthermore, the participant could keep neutral angles in the shoulders and wrists throughout the task. Note that, the biomechanical analyzes was only made on one test person which is not enough to conclude that the prototype contributes to a more healthy working posture.

With the advancement of technology, innovative control measures have been introduced to mitigate the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). Among these measures, wearable passive exoskeletons have emerged as promising solutions for addressing WMSDs. Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of wearable passive exoskeletons for improving awkward postures and reducing muscle workload in tasks involving neck extension, limbs, and back. However, the effectiveness of newly developed industrial exoskeletons designed for neck flexion remains uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the neck exoskeleton's effects on muscle activities and work postures, by comparing the working conditions of floor workers wearing and not wearing these devices. Six subjects were recruited for field measurements. Muscle activity of the neck extensors, as well as the forward inclination angle of the head and trunk, were assessed during the measurements. Data comparison between wearing and not wearing the neck flexion exoskeleton was conducted using the related samples Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was utilized to analyze the correlation between different parameters while wearing the neck flexion exoskeleton. The results showed that compared to not wearing the exoskeleton, wearing the neck flexion exoskeleton significantly reduced muscular activity at the 10th percentile (p=0.028), 50th percentile (p=0.028), and 90th percentile (p=0.028). Wearing the neck flexion exoskeleton also reduced the 10th percentile (p=0.028) and 90th percentile (p=0.046) of the head angle, and the neck angle at the 50th percentile (p=0.028) and 90th percentile (p=0.028). Additionally, the trunk angle was significantly higher with the exoskeleton at the 50th percentile (p=0.046) and 90th percentile (p=0.027). The correlation analysis when wearing the exoskeleton revealed a negative correlation between neck angle and trunk angle at the 10th percentile (r=-0.829, p=0.021). Additionally, a significant negative correlation was found between neck angle and trunk angle at the 90th percentile (r=-0.943, p=0.002), as well as between head angle and trunk angle at the 90th percentile (r=-0.829, p=0.021). Moreover, a strong negative correlation was observed between RMS and head angle at the 50th percentile (r=-0.771, p=0.036) and 90th percentile (r=-0.829, p=0.021). In conclusion, the results show that wearing neck flexion exoskeletons during actual work tasks among floor layers reduces neck extensor muscle activity, excessive neck flexion, and forward head inclination, and it may lead to an increase in forward trunk inclination, without influencing work efficiency. / trätt som en möjlighet för att minska risken för WMSD. Tidigare studier har visat att bärbara passiva exoskelett är effektiva för att minska belastningen vid besvärliga arbetsställningar och minska muskelbelastningen vid arbetsuppgifter som involverar nackextension, extremiteter och rygg. Dock är effektiviteten av nyligen utvecklade industriella exoskelett designade för nackflexion fortfarande osäker. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka effekten av ett nackflexionsexoskelett, med avseende på muskelbelastning och arbetsställningar hos golvarbetare. Sex försökspersoner rekryterades för fältmätningar. Muskelaktiviteten hos nackextensorerna, samt framåtlutningsvinkeln av huvudet och bålen, mättes under arbetet. Statistisk jämförelse mellan att bära och inte bära nackflexionsexoskelettet utfördes med hjälp av Wilcoxon signed-rank test för relaterade prover. Spearman rangkorrelationskoefficient användes för att analysera korrelationen mellan olika parametrar när nackflexionsexoskelettet bars. Resultaten visade att exoskelettet signifikant minskade muskelaktiviteten ; vid 10:e percentilen (p=0.028), 50:e percentilen (p=0.028) och 90:e percentilen (p=0.028). Vidare minskade även huvudvinkeln signifikant, 10:e percentilen (p=0.028) och 90:e percentilen (p=0.046) av, liksomnackvinkelns 50:e percentilen (p=0.028) och 90:e percentilen (p=0.028). Bålvinkeln, däremot, var signifikant högre med exoskelettet både vid 50:e percentilen (p=0.046) och 90:e percentilen (p=0.027). Korrelationsanalysen avslöjade en negativ korrelation mellan nackvinkel och bålvinkel vid 10:e percentilen (r=-0.829, p=0.021) när exoskelettet bars. Dessutom var det en signifikant negativ korrelation mellan nackvinkel och bålvinkel vid 90:e percentilen (r=-0.943, p=0.002), samt mellan huvudvinkel och bålvinkel vid 90:e percentilen (r=-0.829, p=0.021) när exoskelettet bars. Dessutom observerades en stark negativ korrelation mellan muskelaktivitet och huvudvinkel vid 50:e percentilen av de båda måtten (r=-0.771, p=0.036) och vid 90:e percentilen (r=-0.829, p=0.021) när exoskelettet bars. Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten att användning av nackflexionsexoskelett under faktiska arbetsuppgifter bland golvläggare minskar nackextensorernas muskelaktivitet, nackflexion och framåtlutning av huvudet, samt ökar framåtlutningen av av bålen utan att påverka arbetseffektiviteten.