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Abstract
Job rotation is an organisational strategy widely used in human-based production lines with the aim of preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). These work environments are characterised by the presence of a high repetition of movements, which is a major risk factor associated with WMSDs. This article presents a genetic algorithm to obtain rotation schedules aimed at preventing WMSDs in such environments. To do this, it combines the effectiveness of genetic algorithms optimisation with the ability to evaluate the presence of risk by repeated movements by following the OCRA ergonomic assessment method. The proposed algorithm can design solutions in which workers will switch jobs with high repeatability of movements with other less demanding jobs that support their recovery. In addition, these solutions are able to diversify the tasks performed by workers during the day, consider their disabilities and comply with restrictions arising from the work organisation.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia which supported this research through its Program for the Support of Research and Development 2009 and its financing through the project PAID-06–09/2902.
Notes
Notes
1. Cycle time: time-lag from the time when an operator starts a cycle of work until that the same work cycle begins again.
2. Technical action: elementary manual actions required to complete the operations within the work cycle, such as maintaining, rotate, push, cut (ISO 11228–3:2007).