In part 1 we looked at current business disciplines, their associated strengths and weaknesses and the reason for why a new strategy and approach is need for proactively and reactively solving productivity, efficiency and safety issues. In part 2 we are going to explore the power of L.E.S.S. ™
The Power of L.E.S.S. ™
Psychosocial factors are present in every job; however, they are commonly overlooked as a contributor or cause of low performance or injuries in workers. Employers that ignore them can miss the root or adjoining cause of productivity and safety issues. Psychosocial factors can include:
Recently I gave a presentation at Safety 2013, ASSE’s professional development conference called the “Nuts and Bolts of Effective and Sustainable Ergonomics Programs”. The “Nuts and Bolts” focused on the management system of ergonomics, not on the tools and methods used for ergonomic assessment. I did this because the reasons most programs, whether ergonomics or other, fail is because they lack a management/business system. Thinking of ergonomics in terms of a management system isn’t routine or common to most people who are responsible for ergonomics. This was verified by the comments I
During the past two weeks or so the news has been abuzz with “digital dementia” affecting teens and 20-somethings. Most of us are familiar with dementia that strikes the elderly but digital dementia is a new type of cognitive condition affecting those in their teens and early 20s. According to multiple articles on this topic, digital dementia is characterized as the deterioration of brain function as a result of the overuse of digital technology, such as computers, smart phones and Internet use in general. This excess use of technology leads to unbalanced brain development, as heavy user
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.
In Part 1 we reviewed the changes that are occurring within the today’s workforce–the increased percentage of older workers. With this in mind employers need to adapt their work environment to meet the needs of the workers–which coincidentally and most importantly benefits all ages of workers.
Ergonomic Workplace Design Recommendations
Last week I presented the first 5 reasons of my Top 10 list for why ergonomics (and lean) programs failure. Here are the next five:
Have you ever brought up a new idea at work only to have it “shot down” before you could explain the reasoning and benefits of doing something different? Or have you been the person who has “shot down” the new ideas? Chances are we’ve had experience doing both. Oftentimes we are very quick to put down new ideas because of our bias that new ideas mean more work with a less than certain outcome. Based upon my experience in working for companies as an employee or as a consultant here the top 10 responses to new ideas that happen but shouldn’t. Read the list and ask yourself are you sayin
Many companies devote time to training their employees on back safety in which they teach the basics of back anatomy and safe lifting techniques. The question I have had on this training “Is the time and money spent on back injury prevention worth it?” Of course, this question (“Is it worth it?”) should be asked of any training. After all, training takes time, takes employees away from their jobs and therefore is a significant investment by the company in their personnel as well as financially.
