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How Much Waste Are You Still Missing By Doing Lean Without Ergonomics? (Part 1)

It seems as though everyone is doing Lean these days—Lean Office, Lean Manufacturing, Lean this and Lean that.  Lean is a very good process improvement methodology started by Toyota.  However, Lean is frequently done without inclusion of human factors/ergonomics (HF/E).   This lack of using a human centered approach lessens the effectiveness and sustainable of Lean improvements.  This article will explain the reasons for that statement and help you understand that a significant amount of waste is still present after Lean has been done without regards to HF/E.

 

Sitting Isn’t Really “Sitting Disease”??

A new study is challenging the current trend in thinking that prolong sitting increases the risk of an early death.  The study, from the University of Exeter and University College of London, goes against previous studies that state the act of sitting itself is harmful to one’s health even if people are regularly active or exercise.  It also disputes widespread recommendations (USA’s CDC and UK’s NHS) that remaining seated is unhealthy, regardless of the amount of exercise one does.

Optimizing and Designing the Workplace for Aging (Chronologically Gifted) Workers (Part 2)

Ergonomic Workplace Design Recommendations for Aging Workers

The purpose of ergonomics is to optimize human well-being and overall work system performance.  In dealing with older workers the goal of ergonomics is to preserve/enhance the workers’ performance, productivity and health.  The most effective way of doing this is through engineering controls, i.e. designing the job, equipment, tools and environment to eliminate or reduce risk factors that cause poor performance, injuries and illnesses.