February 2024 Volume 6

FORGING RESEARCH

Benchmarking Ergonomic Issues in the Forging Industry P.I.: Brian L. Davis Institution: Cleveland State University Student assistants: John M. Niezgoda, Grace A. Curtician

The overall goal of this exercise is to determine baseline conditions for a common injury, with the long-term objective of either modifying the task or the tool(s) used. Phases of the Study: 1. Conduct survey of workers at a forging plant. 2. Collect pilot data to quantify nature of musculoskeletal demands. 1. Survey Results A survey was designed and sent to SIFCO to distribute to their workers. In total, we had 18 responses to the survey, majority male, with an age range of 30 – 63 (of those who submitted their age). Of the respondents, only 2 reported chronic injuries. When asked which joints feel the most strained after a shift, the back and wrists were most reported, as seen in Fig. 1 .

Background: Proposal to FIERF The overall object is to benchmark injury risk within the forging industry by: a. Reviewing safety statistics provided by the Forging Industry Association. b. Reviewing safety data provided by Robin Kocher UAW (Safety Committee Member) or from a representative at Presrite or SIFCO. c. Conducting on-site assessments of individuals who have sustained an injury of the upper extremity. d. Collecting biomechanical data (kinematics and kinetics) pertaining to a task that has been associated with repetitive movement disorders. e. Creating a biomechanical model of the upper extremity to ascertain muscle and joint loads during the task being analyzed. This model will be matched to the gender and size of the most commonly injured worker.

Fig. 1: Pain in joints reported by survey participants. n = 18.

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