Jigs and Fixtures: Design Review Guidelines for the Ergonomics Engineer

Traditionally, the ergonomics engineer has not played an active role in the design of jigs and fixtures used to manually assemble parts. This is problematic, since tool redesigns are often infeasible due to cost and production constraints. Therefore, less effective measures must be used to control ergonomic hazards, since the hazard(s) cannot be engineered out during the design process. References, guidelines and checklists used by many tool designers do not include ergonomic engineering principles and methods. In addition, many ergonomics engineers may not be schooled in the elements of jig and fixture design, which may reduce their effectiveness as part of the tool design team. The purpose of this paper is to provide the ergonomics engineer with an overview of the design process, and proffer guidelines to assist in the review of jig and fixture designs.