injury prevention

Basically every task performed by a worker requires the use of the hands.  Often times a certain level of hand protection is needed.  For tasks that involve exposure to cuts or puncture wounds, finding a glove that protects the hand but yet allows for good dexterity can be difficult.  Gloves that fit poorly can result in earlier hand fatigue and reduced moderate to fine motor movements.  There were many glove exhibitors at Safety 2012 but one caught my attention—TurtleSkin.

“Sit-Stand” Keyboard Tray Arms

I recently attended ASSE’s Safety 2012 PDC.  It was the first time attending this conference.  I was impressed with the expansive exhibit hall.  There were a few products which caught my attention which I will highlight in this and upcoming blogs.

Ultra Lift

In my previous blog I described the how behavioral based safety and ergonomics are not the same and definitely do not utilize the same approach.  That being said, companies are really good at identifying “bad” employee behavior and using policy, observations and enforcement to correct it.  So the question becomes how do companies who aren’t versed in ergonomics learn how to change behavior through workplace design?  Let’s start with a simple framework on which built upon.

There are basically 7 steps to determining design solutions to change behavior.

I recently attended a presentation in which the speaker was trying to make the case that behavioral safety and ergonomics are virtual the same and go hand in hand together.  He started off by saying that bad behaviors are caused by bad ergonomics and that good ergonomics can produce wanted (good) behaviors.  I totally agreed with him but then he gave the following example:

Over the remainder of the year I’m going to blog about some of the lessons I’ve learned through the years through practicing, facilitating and consulting on ergonomics, lean and process improvement.  Today is the first blog in this series on “Lessons Learned”.

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

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