Integrated assessment of stresses and strains in manual assembly

Manual assembly continues to be an important part of industrial production systems due to its flexibility and adaptability, especially in environments with high variability. However, the increasing complexity of systems also leads to greater physical, mental, and emotional strain on workers. This paper outlines an integrated approach to assessing stress and strain in manual assembly systems, which is based on a structured analysis of existing measurement methods. Based on this, an integrative analysis of stress and strain in manual assembly was carried out to systematically categorize and examine these factors. Using established ergonomic and psychological framework concepts, we distinguish between external stress factors and individual stress responses. The analysis reveals that stress and strain are generally assessed in isolation from each other, which limits our understanding of how they interact with each other in socio-technical production environments. The interactions between stress and strain are visualized using a cause-and-effect representation. The proposed integrated assessment offers a structured approach to combining subjective and objective measurement techniques, supporting the design of health-oriented, performance-driven manual assembly systems.