Abstract
The muscular effort required to perform a light assembly task was monitored by electromyography on each of 14 female subjects under two different methods of assembly. First, the conventional method was studied with the arms unsupported. The second method involved counterbalancing the weight of the arms. A highly significant difference was found between methods, thus indicating that, during sustained activity, muscular effort can be reduced approximately 50% by counterbalancing the weight of the arms. Also, the onset of physiological fatigue is indefinitely delayed, if not completely eliminated, by the utilization of this technique. A comparison between age groups showed little difference attributable to the age of the subject.
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