JuHyeong Ryu, Tasha McFarland, Carl Haas and Eihab Abdel-Rahman
JuHyeong Ryu, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo, ON, Canada, j4ryu@uwaterloo.ca
Tasha McFarland, MSc Student, Department of System Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo, ON, Canada, tclmcfarland@uwaterloo.ca
Carl Haas, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo, ON, Canada, chaas@uwaterloo.ca
Eihab Abdel-Rahman, Professor, Department of System Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo, ON, Canada, eihab@uwaterloo.ca
ABSTRACT
Despite being one of the oldest professions, the level of automation in masonry trade has lagged behind other industries such as automotive and manufacturing. Masons still manually perform
physically strenuous and demanding tasks such as block lifting at worksites. As a result, masons experience significant overexertion and back injuries. In this study, we propose an automatedlevelling pallet as an intervention to reduce block lifting demands. The pallet maintains constant pick-up height using a mechanical spring system. Then, we investigate the health and productivity impact of this intervention on lifting of concrete masonry units (CMUs), an integral component of masonry work. Wearable motion capture systems are utilized to analyze body joint loads. The results revealed that masons experienced a 40% reduction in lumbar compression force and a 10% increase in productivity. We discovered that the proposed intervention has an immense potential to contribute towards a safer and more productive work environment for masons.
KEYWORDS: automation, human-robotic systems, health, safety, productivity
