When I left the “comfort” of the my corporate position to start Kelby Ergo Design I was immediately struck by two things: 1) the majority of the people I met at business networking events hadn’t heard of my title, “ergonomist”, although most had heard the term “ergonomics”, and 2) they shared similar misconceptions of what ergonomics was and the impact it could have on business. I thought I’d address what ergonomics is by reviewing the top three common “myths” that I see and hear nearly every day as an ergonomist.
Myth #1—Ergonomics is just about safety
When I mention to others that I’m an ergonomist by far the most common response I get is “what?” or “who?” I then go on to explain that I’m an ergonomic consultant and inevitably that leads to comments similar to this, “You’re a safety person who helps people from getting hurt at work.” While that statement is true, it is at best only half of the story. Ergonomics is about optimizing human performance.
The definition put forth by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) defines ergonomics (also known as human factors) as “the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance”. It further goes on to define an ergonomist as “an individual whose knowledge and skills concern the analysis of human-system interaction and the design of the system in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance”. Human well-being consists of both mental and physical safety and comfort. System performance implies productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. So the truth about ergonomics is that it involves optimizing the physical, cognitive and organizational workflow.
Myth #2—Ergonomics is only for the office
If I had a penny for every time I’ve been asked if I sold office chairs I’d be a rich person! Although, this may soon change to being asked if I sell beds given the recent commercials touting an “Ergo Bed”! Kidding aside, most people have heard of ergonomics in relation to the office and computer workstations. Although I’m very skilled at office assessments and do my best to keep up with the different office furniture and “ergo” products, the office isn’t the only area in which I or other ergonomists work. In fact, I’ve provided ergonomic services for a variety of environments and industries besides office including, but not limited to, healthcare, manufacturing, trades and laboratory with a little forensic ergonomics thrown in. Besides those areas there are many other areas and specialties of ergonomics:
· Forensic ergonomics
· Aerospace
· Military
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Myth #3—Ergonomics is costly
The last myth that frequently comes to mind is that ergonomics takes too much time and costs too much money. If a person’s only experience with ergonomics is from buying a Herman Miller office chair, then yes, I would agree that ergonomics in that context is expensive. (As an aside, a good office chair doesn’t have to cost a thousand dollars. There are several types of “ergonomic” chairs that are less costly and just as comfortable as Herman Miller’s). Does hiring a consultant and implementing changes have some cost? Absolutely. However, how much money are companies losing because they don’t have their work systems and human performance and safety optimized? How much time, energy and effort are wasted because the environment, work space, equipment and task don’t fit their people? The business case for ergonomics can be seen and quantified in increased productivity, time savings, less errors and reduced injuries and work comp costs.
The return on investment for ergonomics is one of the better business cases a company can make. One visit to the Ergo Cup team competition that occurs at the Applied Ergonomics conference demonstrates this every year. Teams compete on a number of different factors including the time it takes for full ROI, work injury savings, efficiency gains, “green” (recycling, reuse of product), simplicity, etc. A typical ROI is between 3 to 12 months.
One other important factor to consider regarding ergonomics is the impact it has on employee engagement and satisfaction. An effective ergonomics system relies on employee involvement—they are needed to identify any physical, behavioral or equipment risks as well as bottlenecks or work-a-rounds. Their contributions and the resulting changes in how the work gets done goes a long way to building and sustaining employee involvement and trust.
In closing, ergonomics is the convergence of systems, performance and safety. It is this convergence that signifies the mission of Kelby Ergo Design which is to “Improve the quality of work life for employees, optimize the systems and processes for companies while having a positive financial impact for the employers.”
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