Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
OBJECTIVE METHODS
Two objective measures of work posture, OWAS and RULA, are described below. Both
methods are described in full detail in Corlett (1995).
OWAS Method
The OWAS method was developed in Finland (Karhu et al., 1981). It is now available as
software and can be downloaded from <http://turva.me.tut.fi/owas/>. By using OWAS
FIGURE 9.9
The first three digits
classify the posture and the following
digits the force and the work phase.
one can code work postures using a three-digit code, to which three more numbers are
added to describe the amount of force and the work phase (see Figure 9.9). An
experimenter observes the worker, makes an assessment of the posture, and records the
result on the data sheet in Figure 9.9. The results from all work phases are then
assembled, and an assessment is made whether there is a need to take immediate action to
improve the design of the work station or the task. Such immediate action would be
