Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery and Equipment

The RULA method was used by Boulila et al. [57] along with REBA and a survey on milling, turning and drilling workers. Twelve postures were determined to negatively influence job performance. In relation to this, other authors redesigned a CNC milling machine to take worker ergonomics into account. They used RULA to analyse the postures assumed in the initial machine and those in the new design, with the latter being less harmful [90].

In addition, two studies found high risk levels according to the RULA method. The first was carried out on workers performing manual handling work in a metal stamping business. The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) [96] was also used. The second study focused on cutlery polishing workers [116].

Finally, some authors [126] studied the relationship between ergonomics at work and product quality in the metallurgical industry. RULA was used and, as a result, the work carried out was modified. Quality improvements were identified in the newly-produced products.
