SEAT Cuts Muscle Injuries by 70% at Martorell Plant as Ergonomics Moves to the Factory Floor
Published on 11/10/2026 at 17:12 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Two years of biomechanical monitoring at SEAT's Martorell plant have cut muscle injuries among factory workers by 70%, according to Dr. Patricia Such, who works in the company's occupational safety division. The figure was reported alongside a wider look at how lean production methods and safety engineering are being combined in modern manufacturing.
At the heart of the Spanish carmaker's effort is the CARS Health & Rehabilitation Centre, set up in 2017 as an in-house biomechanics laboratory. Over 48 months it has completed more than 4,000 studies of joint and muscle strain. Data gathered through 20 cameras and sensors is used to build 3D avatars, while virtual-reality applications analyse movement patterns. One result was a 20-centimetre adjustment to an assembly section for the SEAT Leon, where staff repeat movements up to 100 times a day.
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Safety Built Into the Drive, Not Bolted On
Ergonomics is only one strand of a broader shift. Lean production aims at a sparing, time-efficient use of every production factor — equipment, staff, materials, planning and organisation — with the elimination of waste pursued through continuous improvement. Setting up a plant productively means every necessary task must be both safe and quick to carry out, and operators are increasingly asked to measure the quality of their protective concepts directly against ease of use.
In practice, the traditional split between productivity and protection often proves a weak point. Many manufacturers rely on external monitoring of safety-relevant functions, which is complex, costly and can hold back output. Integrated approaches target exactly that interface: ACD Antriebstechnik GmbH, working with Handtmann Maschinenfabrik, developed a system for the latter's meat-processing equipment in which safety functions are embedded directly in the drive controllers.
When Guards and Processes Fall Short
Failures in the safety organisation, or poorly coordinated process steps, keep producing serious accidents. One employee lost the tip of her middle finger while clearing a fault on a machine. She was working at the mangle line of a laundry consisting of two independently positionable automated units — a mangle and a folding machine. The folding machine runs on a floor-level rail system and is fitted with position switches that shut down the entire installation when the units move apart.
Heavy production equipment such as presses poses particular demands. The biggest single hazard is injury at the point of operation from immense force, which can cause crushing and amputations. Add to that crush points on flywheels, gears, belts and linkages, ejected parts or tools, uncontrolled descent of the ram, and pinhole leaks in hydraulic systems that can inject high-pressure fluid. Protection usually comes as a multi-layered system of light curtains, two-hand controls and lockout-tagout (LOTO) procedures during maintenance.
Sensors on the Factory Floor
Sensor- and radio-based warning systems are increasingly common at floor level. Still Smart Assist protects industrial trucks from collisions with pedestrians, infrastructure and other vehicles. Through configurable protection and warning zones, broadband radio signals, stationary and mobile modules and optionally up to three AI cameras, the system manages gateways, indoor speeds and junction areas by automatic throttling plus acoustic and visual signals.
Despite growing automation, more than a quarter of employees in Germany still do physically heavy work. At the same time, globalisation and flexibilisation are pushing up psychological and mental strain.
According to the 2021 working-time survey evaluated by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), work breaks are frequently skipped by 31% of dependent employees. In health professions the figure is 49%, in manufacturing 19%. Meanwhile 42% of respondents said they often face deadline and performance pressure, while 41% have to work very fast. Where recovery breaks regularly fall away, 46% report sleep problems and 51% physical exhaustion.
When an accident does happen, the first question asked is often whether the paperwork was in order. A free Health & Safety Toolkit bundles ready-to-use risk assessments and checklists aligned with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, COSHH and PUWER, so you can show your duties were met. Get the free Health & Safety Toolkit
Rulebook in Flux
Technical frameworks are shifting too. The European Machinery Directive 2006/42/EG, which governs design and construction, is under revision, with artificial intelligence and cybersecurity among the central themes.
Test standards are also being adjusted on anthropometric grounds: the Commission for Occupational Health and Safety and Standardization (KAN) commissioned an analysis of which standards still assume a flat 75 kilograms as the test mass for simulating a person, since that value no longer matches current body measurement data and carries risks under overload.
AI-assisted risk analysis is entering hazard assessments as well. At the 85th National Conference on Occupational Safety and Health, held in Sapporo from 16 to 18 September, the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association presented corresponding approaches. At Kyocera's Kagoshima Sendai plant, an AI system with accuracy of about 70% supplies roughly 30 to 50 risk candidates together with management methods, which specialists then validate directly on site.
