Ergonomic Sessions

Ergonomic Sessions

[IMAGE: Ergonomic manikin session — original at /pictures/v1.20/ergo_manikin.png]

An ergonomic session is a structured, personalized assessment designed to optimize a worker's workspace, equipment, and tasks for improved safety, comfort, and efficiency. Its primary goal is to reduce the risk of work-related injuries, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), and other health issues caused by poor workplace design or improper work practices.

With Skyreal VR, you can initiate your own Ergonomic Session and generate a comprehensive report that includes MSD scores, images, comments, and a summary of potential issues.

Skyreal VR uses RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) as the assessment tool — an ergonomic standard focused on the upper body that is well known among ergonomists.

Analysis Methods

Skyreal VR offers multiple approaches to human factor analysis:

• Position snapshots — Captures of a specific posture or movement

• Full user flow recordings (Beta) — A complete recording of a worker's interactions over time, usable for generating operations

Your choice between these methods depends on your equipment and team configuration.

Starting an Ergonomic Session

There are three preparatory steps before working with posture snapshots:

Step 1 — Install the ErgoReport Plugin Extension

This extension generates an ergonomic Excel report based on your ergonomic session data.

Step 2 — Create a Manikin

Create a manikin using either the Desktop or VR interface:

• Desktop: Use the manikin creation menu from the desktop interface

• VR: Use the manikin creation menu from the VR pie menu

If no manikin is selected, you see the manikin creation menu. If a manikin is selected, you see the edit manikin interface.

Once manikins are placed in the scene, you can edit their posture or incarnate them. Always calibrate your avatar before starting an ergonomic session.

Step 3 — Create an Ergonomic Session

Create a Project

In the Skyreal VR desktop right menu, under the Ergonomic Session tab, click Create Project. Skyreal VR creates a default project, but you can create additional ones.

[IMAGE: Ergonomic projects — original at /pictures/v1.16/ergo_projects.png]

If projects already exist, a dropdown list of projects appears.

[IMAGE: Projects list — original at /pictures/v1.16/ergo_projects_list.png]

Operations

Operations are the list of actions that operators must perform. Each operation includes:

[IMAGE: Operations — original at /pictures/v1.16/ergo_operations.png]

You can create all operations in advance to set up the project before working with the VR user. Use the plus icon to create, the pencil icon to edit, and the trash icon to delete operations.

[IMAGE: Operation controls — original at /pictures/v1.16/ergo_operation_box.png]

Baseline / Improvement Actions

Once the VR user is in position, capture the baseline by clicking the capture button. Skyreal VR performs two actions:

1. Captures the manikin's position — Front, top, and right-side images are recorded

2. Creates a manikin duplicate — An exact copy of the VR user's posture saved as JSON, displayable with the show/hide button

When captured, the image appears with the MSD Score attached. Each section has its own comments text field.

[IMAGE: Baseline and improvement — original at /pictures/v1.16/ergo_baseline.png and /pictures/v1.16/ergo_improvement.png]

Action Buttons

• Take Screenshot — Takes an additional screenshot from the desktop view, added to the images carousel

• Show/Hide Manikin — Displays or hides the saved posture duplicate (loaded from JSON)

• Reset Baseline — Deletes the current baseline capture (also deletes its improvement if one exists, but does not delete the text description)

The delete image button (trash icon) only works for additional images, not for baseline or improvement captures.

Step 4 — Choose Your Workflow

Working with Posture Snapshots

• Collaborative Desktop / VR Session — One user operates the desktop interface while another performs actions in VR

• Solo VR Session — A single user performs the entire ergonomic assessment in VR

Working with Recording (Beta)

You can create a recording of a full-body tracked person incarnating a Skyreal VR manikin and use it to create captures for analysis.