Sara Bragança

Waste identification diagrams

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a very popular tool in lean environments to represent production flows, mapping value stream of a product or family of products, and helps to identify some types of waste. Although very popular, this tool has some limitations as already described in many publications, especially in terms of restrictions in showing most types of waste as well as in its inability to represent various production routes. The purpose of this study is to introduce the waste identification diagram (WID), a new tool to represent production units with its different forms of waste, which overcomes some VSM limitations. The originality of WID comes from the use of its symbols’ dimensions to convey, in a visual and immediate way, relevant information about a production unit. In this paper, WID is applied on a production unit of a lift manufacturer, for testing its performance and comparing it to VSM. The main findings are that WID is in general more effective than VSM in terms of representation of complex production units and in terms of identification of more forms of waste. WID must however overcome some of its limitations such as the lack of information-flow representation and the links to suppliers and clients.

A Validation Study of a Kinect Based Body Imaging (KBI) Device System Based on ISO 20685:2010

FEDER funds through the Competitive Factors Operational Program (COMPETE) and by national funds through FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) with the projects PEst- C/CTM/U10264 and ID/CEC/00319/2013

Work-wear pattern design to accommodate different working postures

Purpose This paper presents an analysis of several issues that are preponderant for the work-wear design. The purpose of this paper is to create a prototype of a women’s base upper body garment, based on the information gathered. Design/methodology/approach All the necessary information was collected through questionnaires, anthropometric measurements and evaluation of compression forces between the different prototypes. Findings It was possible to conclude that to create a better design some alterations need to be made in the standard base pattern design, such as measurements across the back length. Research limitations/implications Despite the fact that these design changes have a great impact on the stretch ability and on the compression forces, using softer fabric, such as cotton, is always better for an increased comfort. However, in more professional situation where these fabrics should not be used, these design changes can really make a difference. Practical implications A test with a set of compression sensors showed that the simple alteration of one measurement in the design of the base patterns highly reduces the compression forces. Social implications These simple alterations allow the garments to adjust to the users’ needs, promoting higher levels of comfort and lower levels of limitations of movement. Originality/value The designs presented in this paper can be easily adapted to a variety of garments, such as jackets or dresses, both for leisure or professional activities.

Effects of Different Body Postures on Anthropometric Measures

The shape and size of the human body is affected by the posture adopted in order to perform various activities. The human body is constantly changing and adapting to the movements executed in everyday life. As such, knowledge about the body changes that occur with the adoption of different postures is essential. Besides the obvious adverse health effects caused by spending long periods of time in certain postures, the adopted posture may influence people’s interaction even with the simplest items such as clothing. For all these reasons, being able to determine the anthropometric changes related to different work postures is very important to occupational ergonomics. The main objective of this paper is to identify and quantify the body changes that occur with each of the postures adopted.

Sports-wear in wheelchair rugby: establishing design needs

This paper reports the findings of a preliminary study that intended to understand how wheelchair rugby athletes feel about the clothing they wear while playing the sport and how the available clothes make them feel. 61 non-professional wheelchair rugby players from 21 different teams/clubs in the United Kingdom participated in this study. To understand the players’ opinions, this study consisted of a mixed-method approach, with data collected through a focus group and a questionnaire. The results show that, on top of the lack of availability of sports-wear for this specific sport, which compromises the athletes’ satisfaction, comfort and performance, there is also a need on the part of the athletes for this type of specialized equipment. This study showed that there is a need for this type of sports-wear, hence the importance to act and develop more specialized garments to satisfy this population not just in terms of safety, comfort and performance but also in terms of inclusivity.

Evaluation of Design Recommendations for the Development of Wheelchair Rugby Sports-Wear

Currently, wheelchair rugby athletes face the challenges of playing the sport without specifically designed sports-wear kit. A few designs and recommendations have already been proposed by researchers but none have made it to market yet. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a set of design recommendations for the development of wheelchair rugby sports-wear. This was done so that the products to be created are developed in collaboration with their potential users, responding to their particular needs and requirements. The evaluation was done through an online survey, where the athletes were presented with a visual representation of the design recommendations. The results indicate that the people questioned agree with the majority of the proposed designs and would be happy to have these improvements made to their current sports-wear. The most criticised recommendations were for the gloves, as they are the most important part of the kit, so it is important that they are adequate and allow for a good performance.

Anthropometric Data of Chilean Male Workers

The aim of this study was to update the Chilean male workers’ anthropometric database to be used for design purposes and to examine the secular changes observed in a group of anthropometric variables for Chilean male workers. Data collection involved a sample of 2,346 male workers with ages ranging from 18 to 65+, assigned to the Mutual de Seguridad C.Ch.C in the two most populated regions of Chile (Valparaiso and Metropolitana) distributed in nine economic activities branches. Data collection was performed by two teams of 3 physiotherapies each. Before starting the collection process, the measurement teams underwent a training session of one week that included a theoretical session on the basic concepts of anthropometrics, as well as some practical instructions. A total of 32 anthropometric measures were gathered following the ISO standard 7250-1. Before applying the data, a checking process was carried out, trying to identify errors related to the data collection process. The magnitude of the positive secular trend for the stature was 1.0 cm per decade and the highest value was found for shoulder breadth, with a positive increase of 2.7 cm per decade. The results obtained allowed to observe the existence of a positive secular trend for most of the selected body measurements. Finally, it was also possible to verify that the current research may be used for design purposes and to establish the baseline data for long-term observation regarding anthropometric changes among Chilean male workers.

Validation study of a Kinect based body imaging system.

BACKGROUND Understanding the reliability and precision of the data obtained using three-dimensional body scanners is very important if it is intended to replace the traditional data collection methods. If the collection of anthropometric data with three-dimensional body scanners is a fast and reliable process that produces precise data at a low price, it could be used for numerous applications worldwide. Many studies have addressed data collected by white light and laser based scanners. OBJECTIVE This study provides a comparative analysis between the anthropometric data collected using a Kinect body imaging system with the data collected using traditional manual methods. Moreover, a comparison is also made between the results obtained in this study and the results of previous studies of different types of body scanners. METHODS The Mean Absolute Difference was calculated and all the values were compared to the maximum allowable error defined in ISO 20685. Additionally, an analysis of the significant differences between the two acquisition methods was also applied to a physical mannequin, to understand how the body movement and body stance variation in human participants impacts the results obtained. RESULTS There are few body measurements that are close to this restricted allowable error. The results were better when the mannequin was measured. Although they were still above the ISO 20685 limit, they were much closer than the results obtained for human participants. CONCLUSION The main cause of the differences between the two methods is the time required for the 3D system to acquire the data. The involuntary body sway of human participants is more difficult to control when the time span is too long.

Assessment of the intraday variability of anthropometric measurements in the work environment: a pilot study

Sitting for long periods of time, both during work and leisure times, is the typical behavior of the modern society. Especially at work, where there is not much flexibility, adopting the sitting posture for the entire day can cause some short-term and long-term effects. As workers’ productivity and well-being relies on working conditions, evaluating the effects caused by work postures assumes a very important role. The purpose of this article was to evaluate the variation of some anthropometric measurements during one typical workday to understand whether the known long-term effects can also be seen and quantified in an 8-h period. Twenty participants were measured before and after work, using traditional anthropometry equipment. The data from the two repetitions were compared using statistical tests. The results showed a slight variation in the anthropometric measurements, some with a tendency to increase over time and others with a tendency to decrease.