Ergonomic Analysis of Operator Consoles on Air Support Aircraft

Abstract

The Digital Human Modelling (DHM) method, in which the anthropometric characteristics of humans are represented using a computer-aided three-dimensional model, is used in many different ergonomic optimisation applications, especially in areas such as manufacturing, machine utilization, assembly simulation, cabin design, human-robot communication. This method aims to identify and reduce potential ergonomic risks in posture and work positions during the design phase by simulating human-machine interactions in digital environments.Thus, possible injuries and injuries can be prevented. Especially in critical aviation applications where operator safety is vital, functionality and ergometry analyzes are important in cockpit and console designs. In this study, ergonomic analyzes of the operator consoles in an air support aircraft were carried out according to the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) methods, according to two different postures, using the Human Builder and Human Activity Analysis modules in the CATIA V5 sofware. In Position-1, the operator's situation of directly looking at the screen and reaching for the screen buttons is considered, while in Position-2, the operator's situation of reaching for the tablet located on the side and looking at the screen below has been evaluated from an ergonomic perspective. Additionally, angle of view analyses have been performed for these two postural positions.