This reality could be observed by the visit to com-panies co

This reality could be observed by the visit to com-panies composing the foundry sector in gray iron in
the city of Claudio,in Minas Gerais.This visit al-lowed a broad observation of work ing conditions
found in companies,and the construction of a diag-nosis about the ergonomic conditions of work.From
this,analyses were conducted,for which were used
the methods of the field research and literature re-view.In this survey,the main factors observed were
working posture,working environment and the inte-ractions between employ ees and the various equip-ment used in production.
Through literature review,were studied the statis-tics related to occupational health problems such as
RSI (repetitive strain injury),WMSDs (musculoske-letal disorders related to work) and work accidents.
Work 41 (2012) 1727-1732
DOI:10.3233/WOR-2012-0376-1727
IOS Press
1051-9815/12/$27.50 © 2012 – IOS Press and the authors.All rights reserve d
1727
Allowing also the perception of aspects of possible
interference of design,to im prove the ergonomics of
the work on functions performed along the stages of
production.These impro vements will bring more
comfort to the workers,who will be better able to
perform their tasks,which is interesting not only for
the employee,but for the company,which will have
best results as a reflection.
After the collection of this information,has been
made the convergence between the information
available in ergonomic studies,the data collected in
the field and the method ology of design,which al-lows the development of solutions or guidelines pro-viding improved working conditions of employees
under the aspects that are subject to intervention of
design.Making possible better interaction among
workers,tools and workplace as a whole,minimizing
injuries,stress and fatigue invo lved in the production
of cast iron.