Considering Individual Abilities and Age-Related Changes in Digital Production Planning Using Digital Human Models

Demographic changes and increasing numbers of older and performance-restricted employees is a challenge for the industry. A digital workplace design can support value-adding and ability-appropriate employment. In the early planning phase, digital human models can be used for ergonomic and economic workplace design. However, few digital human models allow the consideration of individual abilities and age-related change to enable ability-appropriate work design. On the example of the design of a production area including logistic activities, a procedure for designing ability-and age-appropriate workplaces is presented. The planning system ema Work Designer is used to simulate the work process under consideration of representative digital human models with different characteristics (anthropometry, flexibility, strength) related to age. The simulated process is assessed by accessibility, biomechanical analyses (e.g. EAWS) and time analysis. As a result, it is shown that with the developed method using digital human models with different abilities it can be ensured that workers with and without restrictions can work together in the work systems. By introducing various design measures, the ergonomic risk is reduced from high to moderate risk scores and the operational capability of all relevant employee groups is guaranteed. The execution time was reduced significant.