Title: A Digital Framework for Work-Related Ergonomic Risk Analysis Using Digital Human Modeling and Work-Process Simulation

Abstract: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are often associated with unfavorable working postures, repetitive activities, manual material handling, and poorly designed workstations. Conventional ergonomic assessments are commonly performed after workstations and work processes have been implemented. Consequently, workers may already be exposed to occupational risks, while corrective modifications can require additional time and cost.
This keynote presents a digital framework for analyzing and optimizing work-related ergonomic risks during the design stage. Digital workers, workstations, objects, and task environments are modeled using Siemens Tecnomatix Jack. Dynamic activities are simulated through the Task Simulation Builder, which generates a work-process video and time-dependent posture data in the ssp.csv format. The posture data are processed using RULA, REBA, and OWAS to evaluate ergonomic risk throughout the complete work cycle.
Synchronizing risk scores with the simulation timeline enables designers to identify when hazardous postures occur and determine which workstation dimensions, object locations, loads, or task sequences contribute to elevated risk. The proposed design can then be modified, resimulated, and reassessed through an iterative digital optimization process.
This framework supports evidence-based ergonomic decisions before physical implementation, reduces dependence on repeated physical mock-ups, and promotes safer, more efficient, and human-centered work systems.

Liming Dai
University of Regina, Canada

Dr. Liming Dai， a tenured professor in the Industrial Systems Engineering at the University of Regina, Canada. Professor Dai served as Program Chair for nearly ten years. He is an ASME Fellow and has internationally recognized innovative research achievements. His research has focused extensively on nonlinear science, applied dynamics, chaos, multiphase fluid mobilization and flow in porous media, high-precision and reliable numerical computation, functionally graded materials, metamaterials, and industrial applications. He has been continuously funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for 27 consecutive years.
Professor Dai has published more than 300 research papers and 13 books, including 10 books published by Springer.
He has held academic positions at four Canadian universities. He also previously served as a Plant Manager and Chief Engineer at a Canadian company. He has chaired and organized numerous international conferences, including serving as General Chair of several international conferences and as session chair and organizer for more than 40 ASME and other international conferences. He has also served on the editorial boards of several international scientific journals.
Professor Dai has delivered lectures and research presentations at dozens of universities and research institutions in 14 countries, where he has presented his research findings and shared his expertise with international academic and research communities.
Website 1：https://www.uregina.ca/engineering/directory/liming-dai.html
Website 2：https://uregina.ca/~dailimli/

Title: Bridging Nonlinear Continuous and Discrete Dynamic Systems with Piecewise-Constant Arguments

Abstract: Nonlinear dynamical systems arising in nature, physics, and engineering are inherently continuous. Such systems are commonly governed by continuous differential equations, and their corresponding solutions are likewise continuous functions. In contrast, many practical systems are discrete, piecewise-constant, or piecewise-linear in nature. Although extensive theoretical and numerical methodologies have been established for the formulation and solution of these two categories of systems separately, there remains a lack of mathematically rigorous and scientifically unified approaches capable of systematically relating or bridging systems with such fundamentally different characteristics. To address this issue, the presenter proposes a novel analytical framework on the basis of piecewise constant arguments. Through this approach, together with the methodology developed by the presenter, both continuous and piecewise-constant/linear systems can be represented and solved in terms of piecewise-linear solutions, thereby providing a unified treatment of the two classes of systems within a common mathematical framework. The proposed approach further demonstrates substantial advantages in computational efficiency, solution accuracy, and analytical reliability for both linear and nonlinear continuous and discrete systems, when compared with existing theoretical and numerical methods available in the literature.

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