It is well known that obesity is an epidemic in America with over 60% of Americans either overweight or obese. (1) Recently there have been two studies published which caught my attention due to fact that both were in regards to obesity and driving. Both studies left me to believe that ergonomics and wellness are imperative for employers as well as communities. Let me explain why.
Staring at the computer monitor several hours each day can have a detrimental effect on one’s vision. Common complaints and symptoms of eye strain are dry and itchy eyes, blurred vision, headaches and neck/upper back discomfort. There is a direct correlation between the amount of discomfort and the amount of computer, i.e. the longer you are on the computer, the more symptoms you have.
“To Err is Human.” That statement is known and appreciated by quality, production and safety managers. That we all make mistakes is certainly nothing new. Operational failures occur across all industries but the impact of errors can vary greatly between industries and companies. The healthcare industry has perhaps the best known impact of errors. Medical errors resulting in patient injury or death are quite costly. The Institute of Medicine published are report back in 2000 (To Err is Human) that stated these errors cost the in
Why does there still remain a chasm between productivity and prevention? In the great majority of companies I’ve worked for and others I’ve known they maintain separate departments and personnel on productivity and prevention, i.e. operations, quality/lean vs. EHS, risk management. There is little, if any, overlap or regular collaboration between them. This disconnect often results in work policies, procedures and design that are less than optimal for employee performance.
This is the sixth blog in the series on deer hunting and Lean, Ergonomics (Human Factors, Six Sigma and Systems Thinking (L.E.S.S.). In my last blog I discuss how I’ve applied process improvement principles to individual components of deer hunting. In this part I want to focus on systems thinking and systems approach to deer hunting—the final “S” in L.E.S.S.
This is the fifth blog in the series on deer hunting and Lean, Ergonomics (Human Factors, Six Sigma and Systems Thinking (L.E.S.S.).
Pushing and pulling is involved in many tasks and jobs in a wide variety of industries. In order to avoid injuries and optimize efficiency it is important to properly design pushing and pulling tasks. A good online resource that explains the ergonomics of material handling in general and then goes into the details of pushing and pulling tasks is called “
Light—it’s necessary for humans. It effects people mentally, physically, physiologically and their overall performance. The impact of lighting in the workplace is very important to understand—not only to achieve energy savings but also to influence worker performance. Intuitively we know that lighting is of value but it is often overlooked in the workplace, especially the value related to productivity.
As an ergonomist, I am often asked what my opinion is on post-offer, pre-work (POPW) screens for new hires. My first response is to ask why they are asking that question. The normal answer is because they have a injury rate higher than what they’d like and wonder if it’s related to their workers’ fitness for work. I have several follow up questions that help me understand the root cause of their injuries. As much as possible work should be designed so that the majority of the population can perform the job. This is becoming more and more important and imperative to organizations due t
The challenge for balancing productivity and safety exists for all industries but especially in the tree care industry where there are many variables that impact both. Tree care companies experience costs related to incidences involving damage to their own property and/or that of the client as well as employee injuries. Often times these incidences are accepted as the normal cost of doing business. The bills are paid and business continues as usual. However, these costs have a significant impact on the amount of extra business a company has to bring in in order to cover these costs. Th
