Lean thinking is a production strategy that aims to increase profit, with limited resources. Just-intime (JIT) practices, waste reduction, improvement strategies, defect-free production and work standardization are the principal characteristics of lean thinking. The primary goal of lean production is to reduce costs and increase productivity by eliminating waste. Anything other than the minimum amount of equipment, materials, parts, space and employee time necessary to produce the required products is waste (Suzaki, 1987). Seven types of waste negatively affect the productivity of manufacturing companies: correction, overproduction, motion, material movement, waiting, inventory and processing. The presence of all seven types of waste negatively impacts the product lead-time, cost and quality (Walder et al., 2007). Several industries and manufacturing processes, from the automotive industry to the service industry, integrate their production strategies with lean thinking principles, aiming to improve productivity and quality through cost reduction. Previous studies have widely investigated the impact of human factors and worker behaviours on company performance and expected outcomes (Wygant et al., 1993; Resnick and Zanotti, 1997; Shikdar and Sawaqed, 2004; Dul et al., 2004; Othman et al., 2012; Xu et al., 2012). Based on such principles, the applied science of ergonomics analyses the importance of workstation and work process design and the effects on worker safety and health. Past and recent studies have widely discussed how ergonomics can optimize human performance and overall work system performance (Dul and Neumann, 2009). The design of ergonomic workplaces and jobs reduces injury and absenteeism rates, while improving productivity, quality and reliability (Botti et al., 2014). Previous studies have shown that musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) lead to significant loss of productivity due to higher absenteeism and injury rates (Cheshmehgaz et al., 2012). Work-related MSDs are common occupational diseases among assembly workers due to repetitive motions or heavy workloads (Xu et al., 2012). Botti et al. (2015) proposed a mathematical model to design ergonomic job rotation policies in assembly lines, that ensures optimal person-job fit.