Full automated processing of ergonomic data in warehousing
Despite the continuous automation of warehouses and distribution centers, manual operations are still very common in this sector, especially for materials handling, which often requires lifting, bending, and twisting motions. In performing such repetitive physical work, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) may occur, manifested, for example, by bone fracture and muscle fatigue. According to a report by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) published in 2019, MSDs are the most frequent reason for taking sick leave, accounting for an average of 5.5 days per year. Understanding how human workers perform physical tasks and whether they are performing them ergonomically is the key to preventing MSDs. In this regard, a fundamental step is to collect the motion data of human workers. Motion data can be collected by expensive motion tracking systems, which, however, are usually not available for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to high investment costs. An alternative to this is the collection of movement data through cheaper and easy-to-use consumer electronics (e.g., Microsoft Kinect). The disadvantage of this optical motion tracking system is that it may lead to incorrect representations of the movements when overlaps occur.
The aim of this project is thus to develop a prototype based on machine learning that recognizes error captures and estimates the lost movement data with the help of ergonomics and process knowledge. For this purpose, data is collected not only in the laboratory but also in cooperation with industrial partners. For the first time, the project brings together the knowledge of motion tracking technology, ergonomics, and machine learning to enable SMEs to design ergonomic workplaces for the human workers in warehouses.
The research project motiontracKIng (HA-Projekt-Nr.: 1526/23-79) will run from August 2023 to July 2024 is funded by the State of Hesse as well as the HOLM funding as part of the funding program „Innovationen im Bereich Logistik und Mobilität“ of the Hessian Ministry for “Wirtschaft, Energie, Verkehr und Wohnen”. Partners involved in the project motiontracKIng are Prof. Dr. Felix Weidinger, Chair of Operations Research at the TU Darmstadt, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Eric Grosse, Chair of Business Management and Digital Transformation in Operations Management at the Saarland University as well as co. Gerüstbau Fr. Schimmer and Aalberts Surface Techlologies GmbH, both Weiterstadt.
