Safety and Ergonomics Risk Assessment (SERA): A Customized Ergonomics Assessment Tool for Automobile Manufacturing

Abstract

Musculoskeletal disorders continue to be a leading source of lost workdays across all industries. Common ergonomics assessment tools may include criteria extraneous to the stresses at specific companies or industries. Therefore, the creation of assessment tools, based on scientifically validated methods, with industry- or company-specific stresses may be of benefit. The BMW Group has developed the Safety and Ergonomics Risk Assessment (SERA) tool. This ergonomics assessment method incorporates the most up-to-date scientific methods and international standards, and is used worldwide in all production facilities of the BMW Group. As noted above, a major advantage of SERA over conventional ergonomics tools is the focus on ergonomics stresses common to automobile manufacturing and the consequent exclusion of irrelevant parameters, thereby reducing the time, effort, and training required for workplace assessments. Other advantages include the international uniformity of assessments and a web- and database-implementation allowing for easily comparable international reporting. The implementation of this method at the BMW Group has enabled a greater transparency for ergonomics across all international plants, and more effective and targeted ergonomics interventions. This publication will outline the basic motivation for SERA, highlight the relevant scientific sources and international standards, and general steps of an evaluation.