Developing a Model with Ergonomic Aspects Using Endurance Time and Rest Allowance for Supporting the Optimization of Production Line Material Supply: A Case of Single-Operator Multi-Materials

Abstract

Various studies on the issues regarding economic and environmental sustainability in inventory management have been investigated by many researchers in recent years. However, the integration of ergonomics as an aspect of social sustainability in an inventory model is still scarce. This paper presents an extension of ergonomic inventory modeling with a new mathematical model which integrates relaxation allowance and endurance time to the ergonomic inventory model. The rest allowance is determined by endurance time, contraction time, and relative force based on several items such as weight, and it helps to prevent ergonomic risks and fatigue of the back muscles. The model has been analyzed in a numerical work based on our specific simulator and parameteric analysis to present validness in different scenarios. Consequently, our results show that optimization with ergonomics in production line material supply provides notable advantages as it increases overall productivity.