People + Process = Performance

stretching programs

The Ergonomics that Can Be Done with the Money Used for “15 minutes/shift of stretching”

In my last blog I wrote about my recent experience at the Applied Ergonomics Conference where there were sessions devoted to stretching programs.  In it I stated how ergonomics is not stretching.  This time I’m going to focus on time, i.e. money, spent stretching and the ergonomics that could be accomplished if that time, i.e. money, was given to ergonomics.

Stretching as Ergonomics??

I was in Orlando, FL last week for the Applied Ergonomics Conference.  I had the privilege to present as well as attend other sessions and the exhibit hall.  To my disappointment there were sessions that promoted stretching programs in the workplace as a form of applied ergonomics.  Am I the only one who found this to be the antithesis of ergonomics?  The purpose and focus of ergonomics is to design the work and work environment to fit the people and the machines they use and systems wherein they function.  An oft used cliché of ergonomics is to “fit the work to the person”.  If this is the