The ergonomic design of workstations using virtual manufacturing and response surface methodology

The increasing use of computerized tools for virtual manufacturing in workstation design has two main advantages over traditional methods; first, it enables the designer to examine a large number of design solutions; and second, simulation of the work task may be performed in order to obtain the values performance measures. In this paper a new structural methodology for the workstation design is presented. Factorial experiments and the response surface methodology are integrated in order to reduce the number of examined design solutions and obtain an estimate for the best design configuration with respect to multi-objective requirements.