Scope and essential concepts
This article covers manufacturing ceramic products, including tiles, roofing tiles and bricks. It does not describe laying tiles or constructing brick walls on building sites. The INSST sector manual places these processes within an activity where machinery, environmental hazards and physical workload coexist. Ergonomics examines how the work is performed, rather than only the product being manufactured.
Start by distinguishing force, posture, repetition and duration. The same product format can require different movements during feeding, sorting and packing. Exposure also changes when line speed is adjusted or the proportion of rejected pieces increases. The prevention objective is to identify these differences and address their causes. A disease should not be attributed to a job merely from its title: exposure assessment and clinical evaluation serve different purposes. Neither an attractive workstation nor a short demonstration establishes that a full shift has been adequately assessed.
Process mapping and shift observation
A proposed process map runs from material receipt to dispatch. Record which operations are automated, which require manual intervention and where format changes occur. Include tooling preparation, sampling, cleaning and removal of defective products: observing only steady production may hide the most demanding tasks.
For each operation, record frequency, duration, distances, heights and product variations. Consulting workers from different shifts helps identify conditions that a short visit may miss. Information should reconstruct a specific situation, such as reaching to a box at the end of a conveyor, rather than classifying the entire factory as repetitive. Measurements require an appropriate method and must not involve changing protective arrangements. As a practical record, retaining the date, configuration, participants and reason for observation supports repetition after an improvement and comparison of genuinely equivalent conditions. Record exceptions explicitly instead of averaging them away within normal production figures.
Feeding, forming and tooling changes
During material preparation, review container transport, equipment feeding and control positions. Reducing container size may lower effort per movement while increasing the number of movements. The complete exposure therefore needs examination before a format is considered an improvement.
For mould or tooling changes, the proposed assessment includes mass, geometry, gripping points, approach space and the need to support components while securing them. Consider positioning systems compatible with the machine and manufacturer instructions. The objective is not to teach people to lift tooling that should be moved using a mechanical aid. Every intervention must retain controls against hazardous energy and movement. Maintenance accessibility should be considered during design: a production solution requiring stooping during every change can transfer physical demands to less visible tasks. Record both normal changes and foreseeable difficulties so that improvements remain usable when a component is awkward to align.
Finishing, inspection and sorting
During finishing and sorting, a light product may be handled repeatedly, requiring wrist movements, reaching or sustained visual attention. HSE presents ART as a tool for examining repetitive upper-limb tasks; it is not a universal assessment of every risk on a production line. Method selection should follow the exposure actually observed.
As a redesign proposal, review product orientation, presentation distance, lighting and the location of rejected items. Quality inspection should not depend on repeated trunk bending to see a concealed surface. Test solutions with people of different body dimensions and the protective equipment actually used. Adjustability is useful only when the adjustment is understood, practicable and compatible with guards and circulation. Recording changes in force and frequency avoids treating improved posture as sufficient when production pace has increased at the same time. The full task must remain the unit of comparison.
Specific focus: brick manufacturing
In brick manufacturing, inspection, grouping and packing require a specific assessment of physical workload. HSE’s dedicated guidance identifies these operations as relevant to repetitive handling. Its recommendations are British technical guidance; they do not establish Spanish legal thresholds or justify presenting historical figures as current injury rates.
For workplace application, observe how package height changes during assembly and what happens when the worker reaches the rear section. Review the number of products handled together, package stability and gripping effort without setting a universally safe number. Failure of an automated system may create an exceptional manual task for workers unfamiliar with it: a planned response should exist before that occurs. The review also includes rejected bricks, separators and packaging. The objective is for package configuration and presentation to support manageable work throughout the complete cycle, including foreseeable interruptions.
Packing, palletising and dispatch
Packing assessment should include boxes, separators, strapping and ancillary materials, rather than only the finished product. As pallet height changes, reaches and working positions change too. MAC can help analyse lifting, lowering, carrying and team handling within its stated scope. Other demands, such as pushing trolleys, require an appropriate separate analysis.
A proposed review covers lift tables, feeding arrangements and material positioning according to product format and available space. Any aid must be compatible with load stability and installation safeguards. Installing a lift is insufficient if the operator still reaches across to the opposite side of the pallet. Assess consumable replenishment, packaging removal and cleaning as well. Purchasing should include maintenance, accessibility and practical use criteria: an aid unavailable during production peaks is unlikely to reduce the intended exposure. Its performance should be checked under representative operating conditions rather than only at delivery.
Heat, dust and machinery safety
Ergonomics coexists with other process hazards. Heat, dust, noise and moving equipment do not disappear because posture improves. Their specific assessments must remain in place, and changes should not impair ventilation, isolation or separation between areas. A closer work surface may be unsuitable if it intrudes into guarding or brings someone nearer to a hazardous source.
As a proposed joint review, involve production, maintenance and prevention personnel before changing supports, tables or access arrangements. Document which protection is retained and which new interference might occur. Cleaning methods are determined by the material and process hazards; this article does not prescribe cleaning operations or extraction parameters. Nor does it replace assessment of silica or other agent exposure. A useful improvement reduces physical demands while maintaining control of the complete risk profile. This should be confirmed after installation rather than assumed from the intended design.
Pace, rotation and assessment technologies
In March 2026, IBV published I5CER project results concerning posture monitoring and task-rotation methodology in ceramics. This is a technical development reference, not evidence that any sensor or algorithm reduces injuries. The method and its limitations must be understood before interpreting a score.
An implementation approach combines professional observation, worker consultation and process data. A camera may not capture force, grip or concealed operations; a sensor alone cannot explain why a posture occurs. Rotation should reflect differences in exposure and competence, rather than swapping people between equivalent jobs. Recovery arrangements follow the assessment instead of universal formulas. Before recording images or individual data, define their purpose, access and retention. Findings should improve working conditions, rather than produce automated diagnoses or rank personal capacity. The assessment remains a reasoned prevention decision even when technology helps collect information more consistently.
Applied example: a format change
Hypothetical example: a line begins producing a wider tile without changing the weight of each box. Total handled tonnage remains stable, but the sorting operator must reach further and turn every piece. An analysis based solely on total mass would miss the new demand.
The proposed response is to observe the full cycle and trial a different presentation under controlled conditions. Compare reach, frequency, holding time and access to rejected items while retaining existing safeguards. Consult the next shift as well to check that the solution works for different people and production volumes. If posture improves but gripping force increases, the decision needs reconsideration. This is not a real case result or a guarantee of fewer injuries. It illustrates why assessment should be updated after product changes even when transported mass appears unchanged. The comparison must include all affected stages, not just the most visible workstation.
Follow-up and prevention connections
Proposed process indicators include format changes assessed before implementation, available and functioning aids, incidents requiring exceptional manual handling and verified corrective actions. Interpreting trends requires production volume, product mix and observed shifts to be recorded. An apparent improvement may reflect a different product format or fewer observation hours.
Connecting this article with ergonomic design, anthropometry, manual handling, repetitive movements, workplace adaptation and rotation supports detailed assessment and prevention planning. Machinery safety and mechanical handling aids complete the technical analysis. Digital records can bring observations, responsibilities and checks together, but they require quality criteria and professional review. Continuing worker participation helps establish whether a solution remains usable as production increases. Reports of discomfort should be addressed through appropriate prevention and healthcare channels, without turning production records into clinical files. Follow-up dates should make it clear when the implemented changes were actually checked.
Frequently asked questions
Does this article cover installing tiles on site?
No. It focuses on ceramic manufacturing; installation needs its own assessment.
Does it include brick manufacturing?
Yes. A dedicated section covers brick inspection, grouping and packing.
Does a lightweight product eliminate the risk?
No. Repetition, grip, reach and recovery can still create significant exposure.
Does automation remove the need for ergonomics?
No. Feeding, faults, format changes, maintenance and remaining manual tasks still require review.
