human performance

“Location, location, location!”  We’ve all heard those words when it comes to real estate.  The same house located on a lake is of more value and therefore worth much more than when it is located on a street in the city.  The same can be said for where the roles and responsibility of an ergonomic program resides.  The value to company can rise and fall depending on the location.  If you read this month’s (December 2011) feature article you probably have a good idea on the best location.  The most common location for ergonomic programs is in EHS or HR.

Are you one of the millions of people worldwide who use iPads, tablets or reading devices such as the Kindle?  If so, you may be or soon will be suffering from a multitude of musculoskeletal pains and strains.  The use of these devices has exploded over the 12-18 months.  It’s commonplace for me to see them used whenever I’m in coffee shops as well as when I’m visiting business clients.  Initially they were used for personal entertainment and convenience compared to a laptop but now businesses large and small are adopting them.  They haven’t replaced the desktop or laptop computer but they

It is becoming more and more apparent that shift work has a negative effect on workers’ performance, injury level, sleep quality and quantity and overall health.  In recent blogs I’ve shared studies and articles that showed the increased work-related injuries in shift work employees, and the negative effects caused by worker fatigue in general.  Another study, Job Stress and Work Schedules in Relation to Obesity was recently released in the Journal of Nursing Admi

Snow has been pretty scarce where I live in MN this winter so I haven’t had much opportunity to push and shovel snow.  We finally got some snow this morning—a little over an inch (I’m a snow lover so yes, I’m excited for even an inch or two of snow!).  I went out to clear the driveway with the shovel with my straight handled snow shovel.  One would think that as an ergonomist I must use the “ergonomic” handled ones, right?  Wrong.  I love my straight handled snow shovel.  [I put “ergonomic” in quotes because there are no standards for companies to use the term on their products.  I often fi

In my previous blog I discussed the indisputable fact that working extended hours causes worker fatigue and lowers performance.  This was regardless of the time of day that was worked.  Another aspect to consider is the effect of shift work on worker performance.  I will define shift work as either the night shift or rotation shifts working normal amount of work hours (8-10 hours/shift).  A recent study of Canadian workers shows some interesting results in regards to work injuries.  The study covered a 10 year period, 1996-2006, and examined the injury rates of workers differentiated by the

In an article I wrote last year, “To Stretch or Not To Stretch”, I concluded that stretching programs for the purpose of reducing injuries were not shown to be or not be effective.  As such, businesses should closely evaluate the costs of devoting time and resources to stretching programs compared to the supposed benefits.  I’d like to follow up that article with research done by Hess and Hecker on Workplace Stretching Programs:  The Rest of the Story.  In their research

How many people or friends do you know who work 12+ hour shifts or work long shifts several days in a row with little sleep?  How many professions do you whose work requires the same?  I can name at least 12 friends that I know who long hours.  I also know the toll those hours take on them professionally and personally.  As for professions, probably the first ones that come to mind are doctors, nurses, police, firefighters and military personnel.  There are other workers who have similar work demands, although they may occur when production demands (i.e.

One of the things I frequently do as a consultant for my clients are ergonomic assessments because of this I often get asked about what an ergonomic assessment is and what does it involve?  Well, I hope to answer this question and some others about ergo assessments in this blog series.  Of course, ergo assessments can vary as what I look at and analyze depends on what it is I’m specifically assessing but the nuts and bolts of an assessment are the same.

Basic components of an assessment

We’ve all probably experienced presentations using PowerPoint.  Too often, the use of PowerPoint is poorly done which is how the phrase “Death by PowerPoint” came to be.  An article in the July issue of Ergonomics in Design, Evidence-Based Human Factors Guidelines for PowerPoint Presentations, provided tips for improving the comprehension and appeal of PowerPoint.  I was aware of most of the points given and thought I’d pass on some of the key ingredients to a successful PowerPoint slide.

The second phase of creating a project brand, in our case an injury prevention (IP) project, is planning.  This is the four blog in the series on Branding:  Why All Projects Need One.  In the last blog I discussed the first phase in the brand campaign which was the pitch.  Phase 2 is the PLAN.  This is fairly self-explanatory—the Plan identifies the project goals, activities and steps involved.  It is also defines who is involved from the key stakeholders to those who will have minimal but necessary involvement.  The roles and responsibilities of each person/group involved defined as well a