Determining and demonstrating the value of your ergonomics initiative for specific engineering improvements are commonly requested. Unfortunately, many of us struggle to even begin to justify improvements, let alone choose a meaningful calculator to demonstrate the benefits of improving workplace conditions. A quick Google search turns up available calculators: Equipois Return on Investment (ROI) Calculator and
If you work in an office you probably spend the greater part of your day sitting in your chair. Depending on the length of the work, your “seat” time can easily exceed 6-8 hours in that chair. Is it comfortable? If not, you may want to consider getting a different chair. The most common question I get regarding chairs is, “What features should I look for in a new chair?”
Here are 5 features to look for with a brief explanation:
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
“Ergonomics doesn’t work.” “Ergonomic changes didn’t solve the problem—it continues just the same.” “Ergonomics just frustrates me—it just doesn’t seem to produce the type of changes (benefit) I think it should.” Those of words I’ve heard from clients who have tried ergonomics and obviously, have not had good results. I know more people who are frustrated with ergonomics or don’t put much stock into ergonomics after seeing little or no benefit from implementing “ergonomic changes”. Have you ever heard or said those words? If so, keep reading. I’d like to address what I see are the to
In this blog series I’ve been focusing on ergonomic assessments. The first one dealt with the 5 components of an assessment. The second dealt with the type of questions to ask for the gathering background information and physical ergonomics. In this blog I want to provide some examples that relate to understanding and examining the impact of the mind and the organization.
Asking the right questions and getting the correct answers are necessary in order to do a thorough ergonomic assessment. In my previous blog I laid out the 5 components of an ergonomic assessment. Let’s do a brief overview of the type of questions to ask in the first and second components.
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
