# Use of Data-Driven Simulation Modeling and Visual Computing Methods for Workplace Evaluation
## 3 Methods
### Ergonomic Workplace Analysis  
Ergonomics is the field of science that deals with the exploration of human physical and mental capabilities during working, and adjusting the working load considering working conditions. With ergonomic workplace design, it is possible to adapt work to a human's physical and mental \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Cost Calculation Parameter** & **Robot Station** & **Test Station** \\ \hline Purchase value of the machine (\(\upepsilon\)) & 312,500 & 87,500 \\ Machine power (kW) & 2.5 & 1.9 \\ Workplace area (m\({}^{2}\)) & 20 & 20 \\ Depreciation period (year) & 5 & 5 \\ Useful capacity of the machine (h/year) & 7920 & 7920 \\ Machine write-off (\(\upepsilon\)/h) & 9.864 & 2.761 \\ Maintenance costs (\(\upepsilon\)/h) & 0.494 & 0.138 \\ Electrical energy consumption costs (\(\upepsilon\)/h) & 0.150 & 0.113 \\ Machine operational costs (\(\upepsilon\)/h) & 10.508 & 3.012 \\ Machine idle costs (\(\upepsilon\)/h) & 10.358 & 2.899 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Workplace costs calculated data. characteristics and to reduce or prevent adverse effects on health [26]. Appropriate workplace design can improve effectiveness and safety at work. The impact factors that influence stress at work can be divided to:  
* working environment--with working conditions such as noise, heat, humidity, illumination, air velocity; and
* body postures--especially awkward postures that can cause health problems. For the effective workplace design, the following steps are usually taken:
* subjective workplace analysis and evaluation to define basic workplace characteristics;
* analysis of the existent workstation dimensions with respect to working postures and workers' perceptions;
* workplace analysis considering the working environment (these results are not presented in the paper);
* precise simulation of workers' positions and movements if we use computer aided workplace analyses and design, e.g., ergonomics software [27]; for manually performed ergonomics' analyses the procedure is different;
* different ergonomics analyses (OWAS, RULA, LBA, NIOSH) performed with ergonomics software;
* prepositions for changes in the working procedure based on ergonomics analyses' results. Ovaco working analyzing system (OWAS) and rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) analysis were performed for the presented problem consideration. OWAS is a method of posture monitoring developed in Finland (1973) for examining workers' postures in the steel industry [28]. The OWAS procedure consists of two parts: an observational technique for classifying body postures and a set of criteria for the redesigning of working methods and workplaces. Body postures are classified into 28 positions, including the positions of the back (four positions), upper limbs (four), hands (three), lower limbs (nine), head and neck (five), as well as the load or force handled (three). Each of these positions has pre-defined high-risk and low-risk postures. In manually performed OWAS, each of these positions is coded by the observer, and after calculating the amount of time the worker maintains these postures, a four-level action code for task improvement is assigned. These four action codes are defined as follows: changes are not needed, changes needed in the near future, changes needed immediately, and need intensive observation. RULA was developed by Dr. [PERSON] and Dr. [PERSON] (1993) [29]. This method evaluates individuals' exposures to postures, forces, and muscle activities that have been shown to contribute to Repetitive Strain Injuries. Use of this ergonomic evaluation approach results in a risk score between one and seven, where higher scores signify greater levels of apparent risk. For a given manual task, RULA assesses the risk of upper limb disorders based on posture, muscle use, the weight of loads, task duration and frequency and then assigns the evaluated task a score that indicated the degree of intervention required to reduce the risk of an upper limb injury.