Biology, Medicine, & Natural Product Chemistry  ISSN 2089-6514 (paper) 
Volume 9, Number 1, April 2020 | Pages: 21-25 | DOI: 10.14421/biomedich.2020.91.21-25 ISSN 2540-9328 (online) 
 

 

 

 

Analysis of Body Posture using Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) 

and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) to Improve  

the Posture of Sand Paper Machine Operators and  

Reduce the Risk of Low Back Pain 

 
Trio Yonathan Teja Kusuma 

Department of Industrial Engineering, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta 

Jl. Marsda Adisucipto No 1 Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia. Tel. +62-274-540971, Fax. +62-274-519739 

 

Corresponding author 
trio.yonathan@gmail.com 

 

 
Manuscript received: 26 September, 2019. Revision accepted: 14 April, 2020. Published: 17 April, 2020. 

 

 

Abstract 

 

The metal casting industry, Nitikan is a micro business whose production process is carried out manually. The equipment used is simple 

and without considering the user's health. This can be seen in the product finishing process that uses a sanding machine. The equipment is 

not designed according to the user's posture so the operator bends in doing work movements, of course this is very risky to experience 

lower back pain injuries. This study aims to analyze the work activities of the finishing process using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment 

(REBA) and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) approach and design work tools that can be applied to improve work posture. The 

results of data processing and analysis obtained a Rapid Entire Body Assessment score on a sandpaper machine single head of 5 and a 

Rapid Upper Limb Assessment score of 4, the score indicates that the work position has the potential to experience a risk of low back 

pain, so there must be an improvement in work posture. Work posture improvement is done by designing a tool in the form of a sandpaper 

machine that takes into account ergonomic dimensions to reduce the risk of lower back injury. The final result after the improvement is 

obtained Rapid Entire Body Assessment score of 3 and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment score of 4. This shows that the risk of lower back 

injuries can be minimized. 

 

Keywords: Rapid Eentire Body Assessment; Rapid Upper Limb Assessment; Low Back Pain 

 

 

INTRODUCTION 
 

The metal casting industry, Nitikan is a micro business 

which can be said to be the entire production process 

carried out by human labor. The equipment used is 

simple and without considering the user's health. This 

can be seen in the product finishing process that uses a 

sanding machine. The equipment is not designed 

according to the user's body posture so operators bend in 

doing work movements, of course this is very risky to 

experience low-back pain injuries. In addition to 

injuries, the process was fairly long because it took 11 

minutes. This process is somewhat longer than the other 

processes which on average only takes 5 minutes. 

Thus it is necessary to anticipate this, business 

owners need to pay attention to the comfort of their 

workers so that work health and safety are guaranteed. 

This can be done by adjusting workers with work 

methods, work processes and the work environment. 

This approach is known as the biomechanical approach 

which in this context is REBA and RULA analysis. This 

analysis serves to analyze the work posture is not good 

and the risk of low-back pain. The analysis then 

becomes the basis for providing solutions in the form of 

work postures in the form of tools to reduce these risks. 

By implementing this it is expected to minimize the risk 

of low-back pain injuries and to increase process 

productivity. 
 
 

MATERIALS AND METHODS 
 

Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) 
Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) is the method 

used to estimate the risk of injury to the upper body such 

as the upper arm (forearm), forearm (wrist) and wrist 

(wrist rotation), wrist (neck), torso. By using RULA, 

fast and systematic results will be obtained in 

determining postural risk of workers (McAtamney & 

Corlett, 1993). The RULA measurement method has 

several main applications such as: 

1. Measuring the risk of musculoskeletal (muscle), 
usually part of a wider increase in ergonomics. 

2. Comparing muscle loads (muscles) between current 
and modified work station designs. 

3. Evaluate results such as productivity or suitability 
for equipment use. 

https://doi.org/10.14421/biomedich.2020.91.21-25


 

 

 

22 Biology, Medicine, & Natural Product Chemistry 9 (1), 2020: 21-25 
 

 

4. Train workers about muscle loads (muscles) caused 
by differences in work posture. 

 

Posture with the RULA method is divided into two 

parts, namely group A posture consisting of the upper 

arm (upper arm), forearm (forearm), wrist (wrist) and 

wrist rotation (wrist rotation); and Group B posture 

consists of the neck, body and legs. The final results 

obtained from the two final scores for group A and 

group B are combined, the combined score results from 

group A and group B are classified into several 

categories. The development in the RULA method 

consists of three stages, namely: 

1. Selection of work posture for assessment or 
measurement. 

2. Development of an assessment system. 
3. The development of a large score is converted to 

one of four levels of action. 
 
 

 

 
 

Figure 1. RULA analysis sheet (source: Mc Atamey & Corlett, 1993). 
 

 

 

Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) 

Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) is an ergonomic 

method (Hignett & McAtamney, 2000) developed to 

measure the types of postures that pose a risk to health. 

REBA assesses work positions on body postures such as 

the neck, back, arms, back of the hands and feet of the 

operator. REBA depends on the coupling factor, external 

loads supported by the body and worker's activities. 

Determination of REBA score manually, discussing the 

level of risk of work posture, starting with determining 

the A score for posture of the body, neck and legs plus 

the load score (load) and the B score for the posture of 

the upper arm, forearm and the hand is added with a 

score clutch. Both scores are used to determine C scores. 

REBA scores are obtained by adding activity scores to C 

scores from REBA values to determine the level of risk 

of injury. Measurement of body posture using the REBA 

method has six stages including: 

1. Observation of body posture can be done by taking 
workers' posture data using video or photo 

assistance. 

2. Selection of posture that must be done. 
3. Assessment of body posture score. 
4. The score calculation process. 
5. Determine the results of the REBA assessment for 

the owned posture. 

6. Check the results of the REBA assessment 
according to the level of action to make 

improvements or changes. 

 

The REBA method can be used when an assessment 

of ergonomic work posture identifies the need for 

further analysis. The things that need to be done are: 

1. All body parts used. 
2. Static, dynamic, fast changing or unstable posture. 
3.  Modification of workplaces, equipment, training, 

and monitoring of worker risk behavior. 
 
 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
 
The object of research was carried out in the sandpaper 

process section. The sanding process is carried out in 2 

stages, namely coarse sanding and fine sanding.  

Because it only has one sanding machine, in doing these 

2 steps, it has to replace the sanding eye, this causes the 

processing time to be longer. Another problem is the 

design of the sandpaper machine that does not consider 

the health of workers, causing workers to have to bend 

for a long time, causing lower back pain. 

 

 
 

Figure 2. Sandpaper machine operator posture. 

 
 

Table 1. REBA angle dimensions for sanding machine operators. 
 

Grup Dimensions Angle 

A 

Neck 29 

Back 19 

Knee Kaki 87 

Load 0 

B 

Upper Arm 39 

Lower arm 38 

Wrist 32 



 

 

 

 Kusuma – Analysis of Body Posture using Rapid Entire Body Assessment … 23 
 

 

Table 2. REBA score on the sanding machine operator's work posture. 

 

Group Dimensions 

A
n

g
le

 

S
c
o
r
e
 

Table 

A 

Score 

A 

Score 

C 

Grade 

Score 

REBA 

A 

Neck 29o 2 

4 
4 

4 
5 

Back 19o 3 

Knee 87o 1 

Load 0 

Group Dimensions 

A
n

g
le

 

S
c
o
r
e
 

Table 

B 

Score 

B 

B 

Upper Arm 39o 2 

3 
3 

Lower Arm 38o 2 

Wrist 32o 2 

Coupling 0 

Activity Score 1 

 

 

For the number of scores in Table A, a result of 3 is 

obtained and added to a Load score of 0 because the 

Load weight is less than 5 kg. Then the A score has a 

score of 0 because the Load weight is less than 5kg. 

Then the score A has a score of 4. From each angle of 

group B the table B score is generated that is equal to 3 

and coupled with a coupling score of 0 because the grip 

is right and in the middle so that the grip on the Load is 

strong. Then the resulting B score is 3. Based on the A 

score and the B score, it can be seen the value of the C 

score is 4. To get the REBA score, by adding up the C 

score of 4 with an activity score of 1, the result score is 

obtained 5. Based on the Risk table it is known that 

Reba Score of 5 indicates a moderate level of risk and 

work position needs to be improved. 

 

 
Table 3. RULA angle dimensions for sanding machine operators. 
 

Grup Dimensions Angle 

A 

Upper Arm 39 

Forearm 38 

Wrist 32 

Twist 0 

B 

Neck 29 

Back 19 

Feet 87 

 

 

 

Based on data processing using RULA, then the 

results obtained by 3 and then coupled with muscle and 

energy scores. Muscles have a score of 1 and a score of 

energy usage of 0 due to occasional loading or energy of 

less than 20kg and retained. So as to get a C score in 

group A of 4. While in group B the results obtained in 

table B are as big as 3 then added with muscle and 
energy scores. Muscles have a score of 1 and a score of 

energy use of 0 due to occasional loading or less than 

20kg of energy and retained. So as to get a D score in 

group B of 4. Based on the scores of C and D scores 

obtained, the RULA value was obtained. For the C score 

in group A obtained by 4 and the D score in group B 

obtained a result of 4. By looking at the grand score 

table based on the C and D scores, a RULA score is 4. 

The score indicates that changes need to be made, figure 

2 shows the operator’s body position is less comfortable. 

 

 
Table 4. RULA score of sanding machine operator posture. 

 

Group Dimensions Angle Score 
Table 

A 
Score C 

Score 

RULA 

A 

Upper Arm 39o 2 

3 

4 

4 

Fore Arm 38o 2 

Wrist 32o 3 

Twist - 1 

Muscle 1 

Power 0 

Group Dimensions Angle Score 
Table 

B 
Score D 

B 

Neck 29o 3 

3 

4 

Back 19o 2 

Feet 87o 1 

Muscle 1 

Power 0 

  

 

Improvement 

The use of a sanding machine was done by sitting in a 

chair. Dimension is done only on the front side of the 

sanding machine, because it is adjusted to the use. The 

engine dimension data of the ideal chair dimensions 

were adapted in Kusumawati’s research (2011). 

 
 

 
 

Figure 3. Sanding machine design improvements. 



 

 

 

24 Biology, Medicine, & Natural Product Chemistry 9 (1), 2020: 21-25 
 

 

  
 

Figure 4. The operator's body position angle. 

 
 

 

Table 5. REBA angle dimensions for sanding machine operators. 
 

Grup Dimensions Angle 

A 

Neck 9 

Back 23 

Knee  110 

Load 0 

B 

Upper Arm 37 

Forearm 77 

Wrist 34 

 

 
 

Table 6. REBA score on the sanding machine operator's work posture. 
 

Group Dimensions 

A
n

g
le

 

S
c
o
r
e
 

Table 

A 

Score 

A 

Score 

C 

Score 

REBA 

A 

Neck 9o 1 

2 
2 

2 
3 

Back 23o 3 

Knee 110o 1 

Load 0 

Group Dimensions 

A
n

g
le

 

S
c
o
r
e
 

Table 

B 

Score 

B 

B 

Upper Arm 37o 2 

2 2 

 

Lower Arm 77o 1 

Wrist 34o 2 

Coupling 0 

Activity Score 1 

 
 

Table 7. RULA angle dimensions for sanding machine operators. 

 

Group Dimensions Angle 

A 

Upper Arm 37 

Lower Arm 77 

Wrist 34 

Twist 0 

B 

Neck 9 

Back 23 

Feet 110 

 

 

 

 

 

Based on A and B score, it can be seen the value of 

the C score is equal to 2. To get the REBA score, by 

summing the results of the C score that is equal to 2 with 

an activity score of 1, then the results obtained score of 

3. 

 
 

Table 8. RULA score of sanding machine operator posture. 

 

Group Dimensions Angle Score 
Table 

A 

Table 

C 

Score 

RULA 

A 

Upper Arm 37o 2 

3 

4 

4 

Fore Arm 77o 1 

Wrist 34o 3 

Twist - 1 

Muscle 1 

Power 0 

Group Dimensions Angle Score 
Table 

B 

Score 

D 

B 

Neck 9o 1 

3 

4 

Back 23o 3 

Feet 110o 1 

Muscle 1 

Power 0 

 
 

Based on data processing using RULA, the C score 

in group A is 4 and the D score in group B is 4. By 

looking at the grand score table based on C and D 

scores, the RULA score is 4. 
 
 

CONCLUSION 
 
From the analysis and results of the improvements 

obtained, it can be concluded; The sandpaper machine 

operator's posture has a REBA score of 3 with a level 1 

action with a low level of risk, whereas the RULA score 

has a score of 4 with action level 2 with moderate risk 

level. This result shows that the design of sandpaper 

machine improvement is effective in reducing the risk of 

injury to low back pain operators, and can also speed up 

the processing time in its use without the need to change 

of the coarse and fine sandpaper eyes. 
 
 
REFERENCES 
 
Hignett, S. and McAtamney, L. (2000) Rapid Entire Body 

Assessment (REBA). Applied Ergonomics, 31, 201-205. 

Kusumawati, Intan. 2011.Usulan Perancnagan Ulang Meja Kursi 

Baca Berdasarkan Aspek Fungsi Dan Kenyamanan Sesuai 

Kebutuhan Pengguna Perpustakaan (Studi kasus Di Kantor 

Arsip dan Perpustakaan Kabupaten Klaten). Surakarta: 

Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta. 

Lueder, R., ( 1996), A Proposed RULA for Computer Users, 

Procceding of the Ergonomic Summer Workshop, San 

Francisco. 



 

 

 

 Kusuma – Analysis of Body Posture using Rapid Entire Body Assessment … 25 
 

 

McAtamney, L. and Corlett, E.N., (1993), “RULA: A Survey 

Based Method for the Investigation of Work Related Upper 

Limb Disorders”, Applied Ergonomics, 24(2).91-99. 

Prasetyo. (2012). Fasilitas Kerja dengan Perbaiakan Postur Kerja 

Pada Aktivitas Manual Handling Menggunakan Analisis 

Metode Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) dan Ovako 

Working Posture Anlysis System(OWAS) Studi Kasus 

Perusahaan Tempo Pedro Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta: UIN 

Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. 

 



 

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