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. ™
Normally communication is a good thing, actually a necessary thing in order for work to get done properly and in a timely manner. In fact, I encourage my clients to evaluate and improve their communication and communication processes with their employees. This makes rolling out new initiatives (such as Lean, Ergonomics, etc.) as well as general everyday work go smoothly with minimal frustrations, misconceptions or “mis-work”.
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:
The CDC’s statistics regarding obesity in America is sobering when one considers the impact on our healthcare system and for employers who need to provide jobs that accommodate the physical characteristics that occur with obesity. According to the CDC, the percentage of Americans adults over age 20 who are obese is 35.9%. The percentage essentially doubles if t
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
Everyone loves free stuff—especially if it of value and makes our lives easier. I’m always looking for tools that can make my job and/or that of my clients’ easier and quicker to assess ergonomic risk. Auburn Engineers offers free versions of three common ergonomic assessment tools—REBA, RULA and NIOSH lifting equation which they call eREBA, eRULA and eLift respectively.
If you’re like most people, myself included, you probably spend a good portion of your day in a seated position. Avoiding sitting is very difficult these days, as computer work predominates. In addition, you may spend many hours each week driving to and from work.
The research is growing that suggests sitting for extended periods of time is an independent risk factor for poor health and premature death. Even if you are very fit and exercise regularly, if you uninterruptedly sit for a great percentage of the time, you’re still at an increased risk of dying prematurely.
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.
