Motion-based analysis for construction workers using biomechanical methods

doi:10.15302/J-FEM-2017004

Front. Eng

2017, Vol. 4

Issue (1) : 84-91 https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FEM-2017004

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Motion-based analysis for construction workers using biomechanical methods

Xincong YANG¹(

), Yantao YU², Heng LI³, Xiaochun LUO³, Fenglai WANG⁴

¹. Department of Building and Real Estate, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China; School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
². Department of Construction Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
³. Department of Building and Real Estate, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
⁴. School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China

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Abstract

Sustaining awkward postures and overexertion are common factors in construction industry that result in work-related injuries of workers. To address there safety and health issues, conventional observational methods on the external causes are tedious and subjective, while the direct measurement on the internal causes is intrusive leading to productivity reduction. Therefore, it is essential to construct an effective approach that maps the external and internal causes to realize the non-intrusive identification of safety and health risks. This research proposes a theoretical method to analyze the postures tracked by videos with biomechanical models. Through the biomechanical skeleton representation of human body, the workload and joint torques are rapidly and accurately evaluated based on the rotation angles of joints. The method is then demonstrated by two case studies about (1) plastering and (2) carrying. The experiment results illustrate the changing intramuscular torques across the construction activities in essence, validating the proposed approach to be effective in theory.

Keywords biomechanical method motion-based analysis construction worker muscular torques workload

Corresponding Author(s): Xincong YANG

Online First Date: 24 March 2017 Issue Date: 19 April 2017

Cite this article:

Xincong YANG,Yantao YU,Heng LI, et al. Motion-based analysis for construction workers using biomechanical methods[J]. Front. Eng, 2017, 4(1): 84-91.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fem/EN/10.15302/J-FEM-2017004
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fem/EN/Y2017/V4/I1/84

Fig.1 The biomechanical skeleton model of human body

Fig.2 Research framework

Fig.3 The typical postures of plastering

Fig.4 The static mechanical model of plastering

Fig.5 The dynamic mechanical model of plastering

Fig.6 The preliminary mechanical model of carrying

Fig.7 The detailed mechanical model of carrying

Tab.1 Percentages of total body weight

Tab.2 Percentages of total body height

Fig.8 The marked skeleton from videos

Fig.9 The rotate angles of joints of carrying postures

Fig.10 The waist torques during carrying process

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