Since the early 1990s a concept known as Design for Manufacturability (DFM) has developed. In the past much of the ergonomics involvement in DFM has considered the workstations and methods of human assembly operators. The increase in health and safety regulations and the number of employee compensation claims against companies for work related musculoskeletal disorders is providing the impetus for the consideration of Ergonomics for Assembly (EA) by design engineers. This project was undertaken within the context of an automotive manufacturing company. A programme for EA training for product design engineers was developed and a system proposed to support its incorporation in future design work.
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