[Estimation of physical exertion by the AET ergonomic job description]

The study has been aimed at showing the advantages of using the AET ergonomic job description for estimation of physical workload, as compared to the traditional methods in which the estimates are made on the basis of the value of energy expenditure, static load and motion monotypicity. From tests on employees at 28 workposts it has been found that by analysing 17 factors involved in the overall estimate of physical workload according to AET, it is possible to characterize the work more precisely. The results of the tests indicate that AET estimates of heavy dynamic work are strongly correlated with the size of energy expenditure, whereas the estimation of body position--with the estimate of static load and the frequency estimate--with the estimate of motion monotypicity. New possibilities, with regard to the traditional method of physical workload estimation, are opened up by the AET method in relation to light dynamic work and static effort. The physical workload rate, calculated according to the AET method as the total of 17 elements estimated, does not differentiate the values of the workloads at individual workposts and, therefore, requires physiological verification.