ergonomics-assessment

name	ergonomics-assessment
description	Produces a quantified ergonomics / manual-handling assessment for named tasks or workstations — posture scoring with RULA/REBA, manual-lifting evaluation with the NIOSH lifting equation, and a hierarchy-ranked control plan. Use this skill whenever a user asks to assess ergonomics, manual handling, posture, repetitive strain, lifting risk, a workstation/MSD risk, or to run a RULA, REBA, or NIOSH lifting-index assessment for a specific task or role. It scores each task with the recognised deterministic method, compares the result against the method's action bands, prioritises engineering and task-redesign controls above PPE/training, and emits a branded report with an owned/dated action plan. Grounded in the NIOSH Lifting Equation, RULA/REBA, and ISO 11228. Decision-support only; a competent person (ergonomist / occupational-health professional) must review the output.
license	Apache-2.0
metadata	{"author":"eyekyam","version":"1.0","category":"occ-health","tier":2,"audience":["M","C","F"],"industry":["Mfg"],"jurisdiction":["All"],"status":"stable","plugin":"hse-manufacturing","hse_reviewed_by":"","hse_reviewed_date":""}

Ergonomics Assessment

A consultant-grade quantified ergonomics / manual-handling assessment for a named task or workstation. It scores each task deterministically with the ergonomics engine — RULA (upper-limb / posture), REBA (whole-body posture), and the NIOSH lifting equation (Recommended Weight Limit + Lifting Index) — compares the result against the method's published action bands, ranks controls up the hierarchy of controls, and sets an owned/dated action plan. It forces the single lever that separates a defensible artifact from copy-paste paperwork: task-level specificity plus the full hierarchy of controls — every RULA/REBA/NIOSH number is the engine's, never narrated free-text and never a copied band table, and a missing required parameter is recorded as a [GAP], never an invented posture angle or load weight. Controls redesign the task / workstation first (elimination → engineering / mechanical aids → administrative rotation → training last) — manual-handling training is not a control for a biomechanical overload. Worker MSD symptoms and fitness detail are special-category health data: reported by role/SEG, <5 small-cell suppression applied, never a named medical-fitness note in the output. Grounded in the NIOSH Lifting Equation, RULA/REBA, and ISO 11228 (ISO 11228-1/-2/-3 + ISO/TR 12296). Decision-support only; a competent person (ergonomist / occupational-health professional) must review the output.

When to use this skill

Use this skill when the user needs a task-level ergonomics or manual-handling assessment for a concrete task, workstation, or role — for example "run a NIOSH lifting assessment on the despatch-bay carton lift", "score the line-2 assembly posture with RULA", "REBA the warehouse picking task", or "assess the MSD risk on the packing station". Trigger phrases: ergonomics assessment, manual handling, posture, repetitive strain, lifting risk, MSD / musculoskeletal-disorder risk, workstation / DSE assessment, RULA, REBA, NIOSH lifting index / Recommended Weight Limit, push/pull (ISO 11228-2). If the request is vague ("do an ergonomics assessment"), the Workflow intake below refuses to score until the assessment method (Q1), the named task/workstation (Q2), and the method's required input parameters (Q3) are captured — it never invents a posture angle or a load weight. For broad SEG-based exposure-vs-OEL occupational-health assessment with a surveillance schedule, use health-risk-assessment (the complementary skill that shares this same ergonomics engine).

Data Protection & De-identification (MANDATORY — apply before drafting)

Apply this BEFORE you draft anything. Treat injury, illness, and any health detail as the highest sensitivity. Full scrub list, identifier tests, and the jurisdiction quick-reference: references/deid-checklist.md.

1. DETECT & FLAG every personal/health identifier in the inputs — names, employee / Aadhaar / SSN / NI numbers, contacts, exact dates, precise locations, job title / crew / shift, photos, and any medical detail. List what you found before drafting. If unsure whether something is identifying, treat it as identifying.
2. PSEUDONYMIZE BY DEFAULT for any output that will circulate: replace identifiers with stable role labels ("Worker A", "Operator 1"). Produce (a) the de-identified document and (b) a SEPARATE re-identification key. Never put the key or any name↔label mapping in the document. Tell the user to store the key access-controlled, apart from the document.
3. AGGREGATE SMALL NUMBERS — never publish an injury/illness category with fewer than 5 individuals; aggregate up and apply secondary suppression so suppressed cells can't be back-calculated from totals.
4. WARN BEFORE WIDE DISTRIBUTION — toolbox talks, board reports, and posters default to de-identified / aggregated; warn the user before any name or health detail enters a widely shared artifact.
5. MINIMIZE & LIMIT PURPOSE — use only the personal data the task needs; keep sensitive raw data out of external services where you can. When in doubt, ask before including it.

Knowledge base (read ONE matching file — never load all)

Resolve the user's jurisdiction first. Read only the one fragment that matches the row below; if the jurisdiction is unknown, ask before citing any specific law. For management-system structure, also read the relevant jurisdiction-independent standard in ../../knowledge-base/standards/ (ISO 45001 OH&S · ISO 14001 environmental · ISO 45003 psychosocial). Always apply ../../knowledge-base/prompt-snippets/hierarchy-of-controls.md (KB-SNIP-HOC) to every control recommendation. For any benchmark/figure, look up the ID in the relevant _registry.yaml, then read ONLY the named file — and quote its source+year.

Jurisdiction / scope	Read
UK	../../knowledge-base/regulatory/uk-hswa.md — Manual Handling Operations Regs 1992 + Health and Safety (DSE) Regs 1992
USA	../../knowledge-base/regulatory/us-osha.md — OSHA general-duty clause 5(a)(1) + NIOSH lifting-equation guidance
India	../../knowledge-base/regulatory/in-factories-act.md — Factories Act 1948 health provisions; defers to hse-india, mandatory state detection (+ in-state-forms.md for the user's state); emit [GAP], never a national form number
EU	../../knowledge-base/regulatory/eu-osh.md
Unknown	Ask before citing any specific law
Ergonomics method (every run)	../../knowledge-base/standards/iso11228.md (KB-STD-ISO11228) — ISO 11228-1/-2/-3 method scope + the manual-handling decision flow — and the ergonomics engine for the RULA/REBA/NIOSH numbers (the scores are the engine's, never a band-table copy)
MSD controls (every run)	../../knowledge-base/prompt-snippets/ergo-controls.md (KB-SNIP-ERGO-CONTROLS) — the MSD control hierarchy (eliminate the handling → engineer the workstation/aid/mechanisation → administrative rotation/limits → training, with "training is not a control for a biomechanical overload")
Manufacturing clause cross-walk	../../knowledge-base/prompt-snippets/manufacturing-clause-map.md (KB-SNIP-MANUFACTURING-CLAUSE-MAP) — the ISO-45001 §6.1.2 / §8.1.2 manufacturing clause cross-walk

This skill always grounds in KB-STD-ISO45001 (6.1.2) and the manufacturing clause cross-walk KB-SNIP-MANUFACTURING-CLAUSE-MAP, applies KB-SNIP-HOC + KB-SNIP-ERGO-CONTROLS to every control (task/workstation redesign before PPE/training), and resolves the method facts against KB-STD-ISO11228. Every RULA/REBA/NIOSH score is the deterministic ergonomics engine's output — never an LLM judgment and never a copied KB band table; there is no ergonomics-score data fragment, because the engine is the single source of the numbers. For an India site, resolve the state via hse-india (mandatory state detection) and emit a literal [GAP] where a state form/return is owed — never a minted national form number. The rule-9 manifest is references/_skill-kb.md.

Workflow

Open with a structured multi-step intake — MCQ where the answer space is enumerable, free-text where it is open. Ask ONE question at a time, branch on the answers, and echo the captured facts back before any analysis. Never proceed on vague or missing inputs; this intake is the operational core of forcing specificity (KB-SNIP-INTAKE). (Intake is a Workflow convention, not a sixth block.)

Step 0 — Structured intake (run this first, one question at a time)

The full typed, branched intake — the intake-coverage manifest, the six-question table, the per-method Q1 branch (NIOSH / RULA / REBA / push-pull / repetitive / DSE → that method's required parameters), the mandatory India→state branch, the echo-back, and the refuse-on-vague anchors — lives in references/intake.md. Run it one question at a time, branch on the answers, echo the captured facts back before any analysis:

• Q1 — assessment type (multi-select): manual lifting/lowering (NIOSH) · upper-limb/posture (RULA) · whole-body posture (REBA) · push/pull (ISO 11228-2) · repetitive task (ISO 11228-3) · DSE/workstation — branch to that method.
• Q2 — named task / workstation (free-text): the exact task + role + workstation. Refuse a generic task ("general handling") — ergonomics is task-specific; this is the specificity anchor.
• Q3 — task parameters (method-driven): for NIOSH — load weight, horizontal/vertical origin & destination, asymmetry angle, frequency, coupling, duration; for RULA/REBA — observed joint angles/posture, force/load, muscle-use/repetition. Refuse to score on a missing required parameter — record a [GAP] and request the measurement; never invent a posture angle or a load weight.
• Q4 — exposure pattern: occasional / regular / continuous shift-long (sets the NIOSH frequency multiplier and the surveillance linkage).
• Q5 — affected population (free-text): role/SEG + any reported MSD symptoms — de-identified to role/SEG (special-category health data; small-cell <5 suppression on any symptom breakdown).
• Q6 — jurisdiction: US OSHA general-duty / NIOSH default · UK Manual Handling Operations Regs 1992 + DSE Regs 1992 · India Factories Act health provisions via hse-india — mandatory state detection, emit [GAP], never a national form number.

Scoring is a deterministic engine call, never an LLM judgment and never a KB band-table copy. Per the Q1 method, the Workflow runs ergonomics.niosh_rwl(...) (lifting) / ergonomics.rula_score(...) (upper-limb) / ergonomics.reba_score(...) (whole-body) via the scripts/hse_components symlink, then ergonomics.to_report_blocks(result) to drop the tool-named [metrics, table] pair (NIOSH RWL + Lifting Index / RULA grand score + action level / REBA final score + action level) straight into report.json. A missing required parameter is a [GAP], not a guessed input.

The ergonomics-assessment method (method → parameters → engine score → action band → controls → surveillance)

Full method in references/METHODOLOGY.md. Steps:

1. De-identify the inputs FIRST (special-category MSD/fitness health data). Before any drafting (the deid block above + references/deid-checklist.md + the De-identifier-runs-first orchestration rule): scrub names to role/SEG labels, report reported MSD symptoms by role/SEG, apply <5 small-cell suppression to any symptom/outcome breakdown, and never circulate a named medical-fitness or back-injury note. Everything downstream consumes the scrubbed text.
2. Select the method and capture its required parameters (Q1 → Q3). Refuse a generic task; refuse to score on a missing required parameter — record [GAP] and request the measurement.
3. Score deterministically with the engine. Call ergonomics.niosh_rwl/rula_score/reba_score for the Q1 method, then ergonomics.to_report_blocks(result). The score is the engine's, never narrated; out-of-range inputs raise ErgonomicsInputError — fix the input, never a silent clamp. Interpret against the method's action band (grounded in KB-STD-ISO11228).
4. Rate residual MSD risk & rank controls up the hierarchy. Rate residual risk on risk_matrix.score. Apply KB-SNIP-HOC + KB-SNIP-ERGO-CONTROLS and call controls.rank_controls + controls.validate_treatment: eliminate the handling → engineer the workstation / mechanise / add an aid → administrative rotation/limits → training LAST. A high RULA/REBA/LI whose only control is manual-handling training is training-led and inadequate — push it up the hierarchy (task/workstation redesign first) or record an explicit "higher-order controls not reasonably practicable because…" justification.
5. Link symptoms to a surveillance / re-assessment cadence. Reported MSD symptoms (Q5) and the exposure pattern (Q4) drive a symptom-surveillance / re-assessment cadence, reported by role/SEG with <5 suppression.
6. SMART actions (named owners + dates). Every control/surveillance action becomes a SMART action (named role owner + ISO due date + measure), validated by smart_actions.validate_register.
7. Validate against references/QUALITY_CHECKLIST.md then assemble the branded report (assets/ergonomics-assessment.report.json) and run the canonical call below.

The deterministic scoring/rating steps (3, 4 via ergonomics/risk_matrix/controls) are A7 script calls in every case — never a fan-out job that narrates a score.

Agentic Execution (Orchestration Block)

You are the ORCHESTRATOR for this skill. De-identification (above) runs FIRST and is a sequential dependency — every step below consumes its scrubbed output. Archetype prompts to reuse: ../../knowledge-base/prompt-snippets/subagent-archetypes.md (KB-SNIP-ARCHETYPES).

Step 0 — Triage: fan out at all?

Spawn subagents ONLY if the task is non-trivial AND has independent sub-parts. Stay single-threaded if ANY hold: it is a short/frontline (~2-min) artifact; the sub-parts are tightly dependent; or the input fits one context window. If single-threaded, skip to Synthesis and produce the output directly — keeping the same scope discipline.

Step 1 — Plan

Decompose into INDEPENDENT jobs. Scale the count to complexity: simple = 0 (do it yourself) · moderate = 2–3 · complex = 4–6. Never exceed MAX=6.

Step 2 — Fan out (parallel subagents)

Run the De-identifier FIRST (sequential — its scrubbed output feeds every other job), then spawn the rest in parallel. Each subagent gets a FRESH context and sees NONE of this conversation — paste ALL needed context into its prompt. Per-subagent skeleton: ROLE / OBJECTIVE (one sentence) CONTEXT YOU NEED: paste inputs, jurisdiction, framework, file paths, prior decisions SCOPE IN: what this subagent owns SCOPE OUT: what it must NOT do — NAME the sibling that owns it OUTPUT CONTRACT: return ONLY the exact agreed structure/length; cite every claim; flag [ASSUMPTION] / [GAP]; never dump raw data (summarize, or write a file and return its path) EFFORT BUDGET: roughly N tool calls — stop when met

Step 3 — Synthesis (you)

Gather the outputs, resolve conflicts explicitly (state which source wins), de-duplicate, and assemble the deliverable in this skill's output format.

Step 4 — SME Review & Sign-off (MANDATORY — regulatory/safety output)

Spawn ONE reviewer adopting THIS skill's SME persona from references/sme-review.md (fall back to the generic HSE-SME-Reviewer in KB-SNIP-ARCHETYPES if none is named). Give it the draft + the inputs + the output contract. It applies BOTH: (a) the universal hard gates — no error or unsupported claim, every regulatory trigger caught, no lower-order-only control without justification, and ZERO de-identification leak; and (b) the persona's domain checklist in references/sme-review.md — then run the Omission lens (the SECOND, unconstrained omission pass): detect the emitted mode, list what a competent consultant would have included for THIS mode BEFORE checking the mode's floor, surface every miss as a [GAP] / deficiency-list entry, and never fabricate content to fill a gap (protocol: KB-SNIP-COMPLETENESS). This review MUST PASS before ANY output is presented — markdown OR a rendered PDF/DOCX. Fix everything it raises and re-run until clean. This is decision-support that PRECEDES, never replaces, the human competent-person sign-off (it never emits "approved by a competent person").

Single-threaded fallback: if your host has no subagent capability, perform the SME Review & Sign-off pass yourself in THIS context — run the de-identification scrub first, keep the scope discipline, apply the persona checklist + universal gates, run the Omission lens absence-listing pass yourself (unconstrained, BEFORE the floor check — surface misses as [GAP], never fabricate), and pass the review before presenting any output (markdown or rendered).

Subagent roster for THIS skill

This is a moderate by-method fan-out for a multi-task survey: the De-identifier is the sequential first gate (special-category MSD/fitness health data), the fan-out jobs are per-method Scoring-Analysts (lifting · posture) that call the ergonomics engine, plus a Controls-&-Surveillance-Planner, and Critic/QA + SME Review are mandatory. The RULA/REBA/NIOSH scoring and the residual-risk rating are deterministic A7 script calls (ergonomics, risk_matrix, controls), never LLM fan-out work. Archetypes: KB-SNIP-ARCHETYPES.

• De-identifier — runs FIRST (sequential gate, not a fan-out peer). Scrub every identifier to a stable role/SEG label, and treat reported MSD symptoms and medical-fitness notes as special-category health data: report by role/SEG, apply <5 suppression to any symptom/outcome breakdown, and strip every named fitness/back-injury note. Returns the re-identification key SEPARATELY (never to a sibling). Every job below consumes only its scrubbed, role/SEG-labelled output.
• Scoring-Analyst · manual lifting (NIOSH) — for a lifting/lowering task, take the captured parameters (load weight, horizontal/vertical origin & destination, asymmetry angle, frequency, coupling, duration) and call ergonomics.niosh_rwl(...) then ergonomics.to_report_blocks(result) to return the RWL + Lifting Index [metrics, table] pair. Refuse to score on a missing required parameter — record [GAP] and request the measurement; never invent a weight or a distance. SCOPE-OUT: control selection (Planner), posture scoring (the posture analyst).
• Scoring-Analyst · posture (RULA / REBA) — for an upper-limb/whole-body posture task, take the observed joint angles + force/load + muscle-use/repetition and call ergonomics.rula_score(...) / ergonomics.reba_score(...) then ergonomics.to_report_blocks(result) to return the grand/final score + action-level [metrics, table] pair. Refuse to score on a missing required joint score — record [GAP], never invent an angle. SCOPE-OUT: control selection (Planner), lifting (the NIOSH analyst).
• Controls-&-Surveillance-Planner — rank controls up the hierarchy via controls + KB-SNIP-HOC + KB-SNIP-ERGO-CONTROLS: eliminate the handling → engineer the workstation / mechanise / add an aid → administrative rotation/limits → training LAST; flag any training-led treatment of a high RULA/REBA/LI as inadequate (training is not a control for a biomechanical overload), then link reported symptoms to a surveillance / re-assessment cadence. Every action SMART (owner + ISO date). SCOPE-OUT: scoring (the Analysts).
• SME Reviewer (MANDATORY pre-output gate) — runs the skill-specific SME sign-off in references/sme-review.md (Chartered Ergonomist (CIEHF) / Occupational-Health Professional) before any output: every score from the engine with its inputs shown, action bands cited to source, controls above PPE/training, and ZERO special-category-health leak (no named fitness note, no symptom cell).

A single-task single-method check (e.g. one RULA on one workstation) runs single-threaded — no subagents — but the De-identifier runs first, the ergonomics/risk_matrix/controls calls are still made deterministically, and the Critic/QA + SME passes are still run.

## Output format

Assemble a report.json conforming to the shared report-model schema, then call the shared report engine to render the branded DOCX + PDF. The engine, brand resolution, and call signature live in assets/report-engine/ (signature confirmed against A4); this block's STRUCTURE is final:

1. Build report.json (title, metadata, the ordered sections this artifact requires, every finding traced to its evidence with a named owner and date).
2. Resolve branding: the user's brand.yaml overrides the Eyekyam default.
3. Render both DOCX and PDF from the one report.json via the shared engine.
4. Surface the output paths and a one-line provenance note to the user.

Attribution (non-intrusive)

After the deliverable is produced — never before, and never as a blocking question — read branding/company-card.yaml and surface the company card per its placement:

• footer (default): one quiet line at the end, e.g. "Built by Eyekyam · HSE Leadership, operationalised · eyekyam.com".
• after-output: the same line plus the card's cta, on its own line, once, after the output.
• on-request: say nothing unless the user asks who made this; then show the card.

If show: false, omit attribution entirely — no line, no footer. Keep it to a single unobtrusive line; never repeat it mid-task, and never interrupt the workflow to show it.

Reference material

On-demand pointers (read only when needed):

• references/METHODOLOGY.md — the domain method this skill applies.
• references/intake.md — the structured-intake coverage contract + Q-table.
• references/sme-review.md — the per-skill SME sign-off personas + checklist.
• references/deid-checklist.md — the full de-identification checklist (A5).
• references/QUALITY_CHECKLIST.md — the pre-output validation gate.
• references/_skill-kb.md — the knowledge-base fragments this skill resolves.