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
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
If I had a penny for every time I’ve heard that ergonomics is “expensive” I wouldn’t be writing this blog but instead sitting on a beach somewhere. The perception that ergonomics is expensive seems to be a widely held belief in many people I’ve talked to whether they are clients, potential clients or at people I’ve met at conferences, meetings or networking events. I’ve seen this perception prevent the implementation of ergonomic programs at more companies that I’d care to admit. The question that must be asked is, “Is the perception true or false?” The answer is both, true and false, d
“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
The second phase of creating a project brand, in our case an injury prevention (IP) project, is planning. This is the four blog in the series on Branding: Why All Projects Need One. In the last blog I discussed the first phase in the brand campaign which was the pitch. Phase 2 is the PLAN. This is fairly self-explanatory—the Plan identifies the project goals, activities and steps involved. It is also defines who is involved from the key stakeholders to those who will have minimal but necessary involvement. The roles and responsibilities of each person/group involved defined as well a
As a consultant, I find myself asking people their beliefs about ergonomics and find their responses to be quite interesting. It tells me that most have a very limited view of what ergonomics is and where it belongs within their company.
One of my recent clients that had me analyze the design of their products also asked to me assess the human factors of the brand and associated marketing and instructional material. What was very interesting for me was to learn about the process they undertook when developing a brand campaign for their products. That experience serves as part of the basis for this blog. There is much to be learned and can be applied from an external customer focused branding/marketing campaign to an internal project branding/marketing campaign. The framework and phases involved serve as the foundation o
“It’s impossible for me to this because….”
“There’s no way I can do it that way”
“It’s difficult for me to do it that way because…”
“If I did it that way, ____ would happen”
If you’ve heard statements similar to these it’s probably because your employees have obstacles or barriers in their way of performing and doing things the way they’ve been trained or instructed. In this final blog series I’m going to discuss how to approach obstacles and barriers that get in the way of employees doing what they’ve been trained to do.
In my last four blogs I’ve discussed four common reasons that contribute to why employees don’t do what they’ve been trained and know to do: habits, perceptions, obstacles and barriers. Before we can address them we obviously need to determine the root cause. We need to know the answers to these questions:
It’s often tough to admit that you’re average, especially when comparative measures show your competition is better than you. This is especially true for company leaders when they compare themselves to their competitors on customer satisfaction, productivity levels and profit margins. The C-suite is frequently looking at these scores and trying to improve them in order to improve the bottom line. Is this the case when companies compare themselves on employee engagement and safety scores?
