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Hand Tool Ergonomics - past and Present

Article  in  Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting Proceedings · September 2010
DOI: 10.1177/154193121005401512

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 PROCEEDINGS of the HUMAN FACTORS and ERGONOMICS SOCIETY 54th ANNUAL MEETING - 2010 1145

HAND TOOL ERGONOMICS – PAST AND PRESENT

Chair: T. Armstrong, U Michigan Center for Ergonomics

Panelist: David J. Cochran, University of Nebraska

Peter A. Bleed, University of Nebraska
Jia-hua Lin, Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety
Andris Freivalds, Penn State University
Robert G. Radwin, University of Wisconsin-Madison
David M. Rempel, UC Berkeley Ergonomics Laboratory

ABSTRACT

Hand tools are used in nearly all occupations and industries. Modern tools have been enhanced with advance materials, external power
and electronics. Some tools no longer have a mechanical connection between the hand and the work object, e.g., joysticks, computer
mice and hand controls used for robotic surgery hand tools. Still it is widely recognized that tools must fit the user and task to achieve
best possible performance. Failure to consider the user and task can result in acute or chronic injuries. Examination of tools from
different applications and from different times offers many important lessons for tools designers and users. Panelist in this session will
use historical and contemporary examples, models and standards recommendations for selection and design of tools.

SUMMARY:

Hand tools enable humans to increase coupling,

leverage and control over external objects. The earliest tools
were used for self-defense, hunting, agriculture, preparation of
food and shelter. Tools have continued hand and hand with
civilization and industrialization. Advanced materials, external
Copyright 2010 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Inc. All rights reserved. 10.1518/107118110X12829369834041

power and even electronics can be found in many

contemporary tools. While hand tools can be used to increase
productivity, they also can be an agent of injury. Workers may
be injured when their hand slips and into contact with the
working end of the tool. Workers also may be injured when a
tool is used to perform frequent exertions, high forces and Figure 1: Relationship between user, tool and task attributes
stressful postures. and tool performance and user stresses.

For early tools there was a very close relationship
between the makers and users of tools. As a result tools could
be modified when a user developed a problem or found a
better way of doing the job. Also tools were often enhanced
aesthetically to please the user. Makers and users of
contemporary tools are often separated in time and space. As
a result makers often lack first hand knowledge of how the
tools are being used and the physical and behavioral traits of
the tools users.
Tool designers and users need models that describe
the relationship between tool attributes, physical and
behavioral attributes of users, work task attributes, work
performance and worker stress (see Figure 1). Instrumentation
and procedures are needed for measuring how tools are held,
how forces exerted on the tool by the user and by the tool on
the work object and for development of models. Validated
models are need for developing standards and selecting tools.
Hand tool selection, design and prevention of Work-
Related Musculoskeletal Disorders, WMSDs. Thomas J.
Armstrong, University of Michigan
Workers and employers are often motivated to seek
“ergonomic” tools because of Work-Related Musculoskeletal
Disorders, WMSDs. Some tool producers imply that the use
of “ergonomic” tools can prevent WMSDs. Prevention of
WMSDs should start with identification of possible risk
factors and an analysis of the job for which the tools is being
used. That analysis should determine how much the tool is
used and how much the tool contributes to the overall risk of
WMSDs. It is possible for a tool to be the source of a problem
in one situation, but not another.
WMSDs are associated with repeated exertions, high
forces, stressful postures and vibration (NRC-IOM 2001).
The posture required to use a tool is related to its shape and
size, the location and orientation of work, the presence of
obstructions and the size and behavior of the worker. A tool
that affords an optimal posture for one work location and
orientation does not necessarily afford an optimal posture for
another. Also, posture is affected by how the worker holds the
PROCEEDINGS of the HUMAN FACTORS and ERGONOMICS SOCIETY 54th ANNUAL MEETING - 2010
tool, which is in turn affected by the force requirements and
the size and strength of the worker. If the worker is strong
enough or if the force requirements are low enough workers
may be able to manipulate the tool with their fingers rather
than bend their wrist or shoulder to use the tool. According to
Eric Sloane (1964) “Before the Civil War, most axe handles
(like the handles of all tools) were made by the man who
would use the axe.”Axe patterns were so subtly curved and
proportioned that they were as distinctive as a man’s
signature; you could take one look and say ‘This tool belongs
to Jones.’” While some of the differences among handles
reflected personal taste, is also likely that some of these
differences reflected the anatomy and behavior of the user.
Tool force that a worker applies to use a tool will be
influenced by how the tool is used and maintained. For
example sliding or wiggling a knife can reduce the required
grip force. The force required for cutting meat increases as a
knife becomes dull. Additionally, a worker may use more
motions with a dull than a sharp knife, which increases
repetition and reduces available recovery time. Similarly the
force required to engage a screwdriver and apply torque to a
threaded fastener increases as the bit wears. Accessories and
power connections can affect tool forces. Airline, power cord,
and suspenders may pull or twist the tool out of the workers
hand – particularly if a balancer is not mounted directly over
the tool. In some cases mechanical assists can be used to
support the weight of a tool or resist reaction forces.
It is important that all WMSD risk factors and their
source be examined when designing or selecting a tool for a
given user population and task.
The Evolution of Hand Tools – A Social, Physical, and
Mechanical Perspective. Peter A. Bleed, University of
Nebraska.
Virtually all hand tools operate in the context of other
tools, patterned activities, and human participants. Contextual
analysis of tools has provided the basis for identification of
diverse cultural and social work patterns. In both anthropology
and engineering consideration of the design of tools, kits, and
work areas are well established research approach that has
been used to assess the wisdom of traditional designs and
expose work patterns. Tool history has also been considered in
evolutionary terms. This presentation aims to go beyond
simple description of tool history by using the emergent
theoretical area of “niche construction.” It considers the
possibility that tool designs are the result of an evolutionary
process in which existing tools and kits form a developmental
“niche” that guides and confines subsequent technological
development. Focusing on social, physical, and mechanical
characteristics tools, thus, affords a perspective, not only on
how they operate, but also how they influence successive
developments.
1146
Tools of Woodworking and of Meat Cutting. David J.
Cochran, University of Nebraska, William M. Stieren, Cargill
Nebraska City Facility
Woodworking and meat cutting are two of the oldest
human activities in which tools are used. In both cases the
tools have evolved with the changes in technology and
materials. Both started using available materials such as
naturally available stone and evolved to modified stone (flint)
and then to copper, bronze, iron, steel, and now, much more
sophisticated alloys and materials. Early progression was
slow and tailored to the individual. Later progression has
moved to very rapid innovation and to generic tools in some
cases and to very specialized tools in other cases. This
progression has reached a point such that many tasks that
required high levels of physical force, effort, and repetition
have been changed such that force, effort, and repetition have
been reduced by the introduction of power sources other than
human effort. In this process, the injury and illness histories
associated with woodworking and with meat
cutting/processing have changed but injuries and illnesses
associated with tool use have not been eliminated.
This presentation and discussion will look at the
progression of representative tools in woodworking and meat
cutting and evaluate the reasons for change, the impact of
change on quality and productivity, and the resulting impact
on the workers who use them. An attempt will be made to
look into the future evolution of tools in these two areas of
human endeavor.
Biomechanical, Metabolic and Anthropometric
Considerations in Shovel/Spade Design. Andris Freivalds,
Penn State University, USA
Spades and shovels have evolved over thousands of years
as tools to cut/turn turf and move soil, respectively.
Interestingly, Lehman identified over 12,000 different forms
of such tools used essentially for the same purpose in the
1930s in Germany. However, redesigns are still being made
today, especially with biomechanical, metabolic, and
anthropometric considerations in mind. Factors that influence
such redesigns include:
1) shovel/spade usage and task functions, with
implications for lift angle, length of handle, etc.
2) shovel/spade weight and loads handled, with
implications for blades size, shape, thickness and
material and handle material
3) shovel/spade biomechanical and metabolic
efficiency, with the addition of a second handle or
not
4) shovel/space proportions, with focus on individual
user gender, size, and strength capabilities
Statistical demographics indicate that farms have been
diverging either to very large mechanized entities, for which
hand tools aren’t very important, or to small market growers
or organic type farms, operator primarily by women, for
PROCEEDINGS of the HUMAN FACTORS and ERGONOMICS SOCIETY 54th ANNUAL MEETING - 2010
whom hand tools that fit and aren’t unduly taxing are very
important. This paper will present the details of a novel
shovel/spade design, laboratory experiments, and field
evaluations of a prototype designed specifically for female
users.
Hand tool interface force measurement system for
biomechanical and ergonomics studies. Jia-hua Lin
There is a need to measure the contact force and
torque between the hand and the tool handle for biomechanical
and ergonomics studies of hand tool use (Armstrong et al.
1999; Freivalds et al. 1993; Lin et al. 2001; Radwin et al.
1989). Most of the power hand tool related ergonomic studies
were designed according to ISO 6544 (1981), the standard
published by International Organization for Standardization
governing the procedures of reaction torque and torque
impulse measurements. The standard states that there was no
successful method to measure the actual stress experienced by
human operators, nor were there any known devices for
measuring torque and force between the tool and the operator
(section 4.2.1, paragraph 4). With the advance in measurement
technology applied in occupational safety and ergonomics
studies since the issuance of the ISO standard, it has been
demonstrated that certain common hand tool handles, e.g.,
knives (McGorry et al. 2003), can be instrumented to provide
researchers the information about how the operator interacts
with the tool and the task.
A hand-handle interface force and torque
measurement system will be introduced. This system consists
of an instrumented handle with a sensor capable of measuring
grip force and reaction hand moment when threaded fastener
driving tools are used by operators. The handle is rigidly
affixed to the tool in parallel to the original tool handle
allowing normal fastener-driving operations with minimal
interference. Demonstration of this proposed system is made
with tools of three different shapes: pistol grip, right angle,
and in-line. In an example, during tool torque buildup the
proposed system measured operators exerting greater grip
force on the soft joint than on the hard joint. The results
demonstrate that the measurement system can provide
supplemental data useful in exposure assessment with power
hand tools as proposed in ISO 6544.
Biomechanical models for design, selection and installation
of hand tools. Robert G. Radwin, University of Wisconsin-
Madison
The design, selection and installation of tools, such as
those used in manufacturing and construction, are often done
without knowing the specific magnitude of forces acting
against the operator or knowing the capacity of the human to
support a tool or react against those forces. Although
sometimes tool forces can be directly measured while they are
in use, that is often not practical and it is more desirable to
predict forces and operator capabilities to compare against
human operator limits and tolerances prior to their use. This
information is important for designers to develop better tools
1147
and for engineers to select the best tools and provide workers
with better and safer tool installations.
We have developed mechanical models of hand tools
based on tool geometry, inertial properties, motor
characteristics, and material properties upon which tools
operate (Radwin et al., 1989; Lin et al. 2001). Mechanical
models are needed for not only for predicting tool forces but
for predicting human operator reactions in order to establish
limits for safety, health and productivity. Biomechanical
models have been developed in our lab for predicting human
operator dynamic properties. These are not only dependent on
individual operator characteristics but are significantly
affected by the location, orientation and direction that tools are
used, which is often a function of work design and tool
installation. Methods for implementing these models and
operator limits range from computer software to mechanical
test fixtures.
This presentation will describe the models we have
developed for quantifying tool forces and research on human
operator capacities to use tools for the specific purpose of
preventing operator injuries and enhancing tool use (Ku, et al.
2007). The discussion will range from industrial power hand
tools to tools and instruments used in surgery and medicine.
The additional knowledge needed for establishing human
operator limits will be discussed.
Biomechanical considerations in the design of the
computer mouse. David Rempel, Ergonomics Program;
University of California, Berkeley
Long hours of computer mouse use appear to be
associated with increased risk of hand pain, wrist tendonitis
and carpal tunnel syndrome. For graphics, animation and CAD
engineering jobs, the predominantly used input device is the
mouse. Although mouse use is a low force task, the button
activation force is typically less than 120 g, the actual force
applied by users, especially for ‘dragging’ tasks, can elevate
the fluid pressure in the carpal tunnel (Keir et al. 1999). In
addition, the button clicking leads to repeated loading of the
finger flexor muscles. The fingers may hover over the mouse
buttons leading to sustained forearm extensor muscle load.
Rapid side-to-side movement of the mouse is done by the
wrist movers and may increase the risk for wrist tendonitis.
The shape of the mouse can influence wrist extension, ulnar
deviation, and forearm pronation. If there is little space near
the keyboard, the user may have to reach for the mouse. Some
of these postures, such as full forearm pronation, can also
increase carpal tunnel pressure. Finally, pressure on the wrist
from the desk surface can lead to contact stress over the flexor
tendons and the pissiform bone. Alternative mice designs can
decrease some of these risk factors, such as forearm pronation,
wrist extension, contact stress, and even finger hovering.
However, our research suffers from a lack of high quality
intervention data demonstrating that each of these design
changes can prevent musculoskeletal disorders or reduce hand
pain among computer users.
PROCEEDINGS of the HUMAN FACTORS and ERGONOMICS SOCIETY 54th ANNUAL MEETING - 2010 1148

References

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Sjøgaard, G. (1999). Muscle responses to simulated torque
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Freivalds, A., & Eklund, J. (1993). Reaction torques and
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