workplace safety

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

Last month I attended the Ergonomics Applied to Retail and Distribution conference in Minneapolis.  It was my first conference I attended that was strictly devoted to this sector.  While I was attending I was thinking that there could almost be an ergonomics and human factors conference devoted to each industry and/or sub-sectors because there are enough unique work tasks, needs and nuances that could support what occurred at this conference—that was speakers specific to the industry presenting their current challenges, attempted changes and full or partial solutions to their issues.

Although sit-stand workstations have been around for several years their popularity has only recently grown.  This has been primarily due to research on the negative effects of prolonged sitting which has been labeled “Sitting Disease”.   To combat sitting disease in an office/computer work environment employers and employees should modify the work environment and tasks to allow for a reduction in the amount of time spent sitting and increase the amount of time spent standing and/or walking—hence the upsurge in demand for and use of sit-stand computer workstations.

This is the final blog in the 4 part series on the 4 M’s to effective ergonomics systems.  The 4^th M stands for Momentum!  Momentum or energy is continually needed to drive the system on a continual basis.  First, momentum is needed in you (me) both inwardly and outwardly.  The keys to inward momentum are:

This is the third part out of four in the article series on the 4 M’s to effective and sustainable ergonomics systems.   The third M stands for Mindset.  According to the Merriam Webster’s online dictionary, mindset means “mental inclination, tendency, or habit”.  Another definition is offered by thefreedictionary.com, “A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person’s responses to and interpretations of situations.”  Mindset is the third key principle on which successful ergonomics systems are built.  One must determine whose mindset must be understood. 

This is the second of the 4 part blog series on the 4 M’s to Effective Ergonomics Systems in the Short and Long Term.  The second “M” is Marketing.  By marketing I mean that the ergonomics systems and associated projects should have a brand.  Consider the following:  What company name comes to mind based on the following:  a Swoosh and the tagline “Just Do It”?  Or what company comes to mind if I tell you the logo is a red bullseye?  If you said Nike and Target you’d be correct.  What about the company you work for?  Does it have a brand—a logo and/or tagline?

I was at a business association meeting recently when I sat down at a table with 5 other attendees.

There recently was a short article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in which a nursing home was cited for neglect in a resident’s death.  In reading the information contained in the article I think a better, more accurate way to state the problem instead of neglect would have been to cite the nursing home for a breakdown in their resident care system.  I see a lack of a systems approach using human factors for resident care.  For if one was in place the death of the resident could have been prevented.

Basically every task performed by a worker requires the use of the hands.  Often times a certain level of hand protection is needed.  For tasks that involve exposure to cuts or puncture wounds, finding a glove that protects the hand but yet allows for good dexterity can be difficult.  Gloves that fit poorly can result in earlier hand fatigue and reduced moderate to fine motor movements.  There were many glove exhibitors at Safety 2012 but one caught my attention—TurtleSkin.

“Sit-Stand” Keyboard Tray Arms