Fuzzy logic and RULA method for assessing the risk of working

Productivity is today one of the most important aspects of a business, the productivity concept not only implies higher profits, but use their resources efficiently, based on the purpose or goal of the organization. One of the most important resources is the human resource, which is why when talking about productivity, it is vital to consider the environment or workspace in which the operators perform. Ergonomics talk is talk of a tool for increasing productivity, as this, to bring the physical conditions of the work area, allows workers feel more comfortable and the risk is diminished by poor posture, resulting an increase in production since the worker gets healthier and safer working conditions. In the northern state of Veracruz, Mexico, is located a company Ironmonger industry and construction, which has about 376 people. It has been found that operators do not have the area right job, so a study was done through the RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) method for the assessment of risk by maintaining inadequate by the poor design of workspace views. The Rula method provides a useful tool for evaluating working postures that may create a risk tool, however when you have a large number of workers, this process becomes tedious. Fuzzy Logic is an extension of traditional logic, but uses similar concepts belonging to the human way of thinking, the concept of fuzzy logic was introduced by LA Zadeh in 1965, who described that Fuzzy logic does not use exact values as 1 or 0 but if you use values between 0 and 1 (inclusive) that may indicate intermediate values. The use of fuzzy logic in this case study aims to minimize the valuation work for every operator with Rula method, indicating, through fuzzy sets, the levels of risk that may arise in representative areas of the Hardware Store in where work is carried out with similar positions, regardless of the area from which it comes. Allowing this, assign values to assess accurately if no or a risk index. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of AHFE Conference.