K. McCoskey, U.S. Army CHPPM, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.
Injuries significantly affect the mission of our civilian workforce as well as the readiness of our military everyday. The Secretary of Defense has released a memorandum requiring a 50% reduction in all lost time injuries within 5 years. Many of these are ergonomic injuries. Fifty percent of civilian Federal Employee Compensation Act claims and costs and more than 20% of military injuries are related to ergonomics. The overall goal of this outreach program is to assist installations with developing a self-maintained, successful ergonomics program that will work towards eliminating ergonomic injuries. This will provide each installation with the knowledge and support to develop and tailor their program to meet their installation’s individual needs in the future. The program development plan and enhancement plans were developed through data analysis and discussions with installation personnel from safety, industrial hygiene, occupational health, worker’s compensation claims, and data management. The development and implementation of this initiative will allow installations to take ownership of their ergonomics program and decrease their ergonomic injuries. Session attendees should learn how to perform a program status assessment, establish a new program plan or program enhancement, and develop a follow-up plan.
G. Mirka, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
The furniture manufacturing industry is a very manually-intensive industry and as such must deal with problems associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Furniture workers have exposure to a number of recognized occupational risk factors for low back and upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Presented here are two efforts aimed at reducing the incidence and severity of these disorders in the furniture manufacturing industry.
The objectives of our intervention research project were to develop and evaluate engineering controls for the reduction of upper extremity injury and low back injury risk in workers in the furniture manufacturing industry. An on-site ergonomic analysis of high risk jobs was performed and a process of engineering design of ergonomic interventions was undertaken. These interventions were then evaluated in a laboratory environment and in furniture manufacturing facilities to assess the effectiveness of the interventions. A random orbital sander interface that was developed reduced extensor muscle activities by an average of 30%. An upholstery handtool reduced the intrinsic hand muscle activities by an average of 51%. A height-adjustable upholstery buck system eliminated the lifting and lowering requirements and affected trunk kinematics during the upholstery operation by reducing peak sagittal angles by up to 79%, peak sagittal accelerations by up to 42%, and peak lateral position by up to 31%. In an unusual collaboration between industry, government, and researchers, the “Voluntary Ergonomic Guideline for the Furniture Manufacturing Industry” was developed. The approach taken in this document is to outline the basics of the ergonomics process and then to use the “best practices” approach to illustrate effective work-proven solutions to tough industrial problems. These solutions were submitted to the work group and many were included as a way of encouraging other furniture manufacturers to address ergonomic concerns in their own facilities and contribute to an ongoing process of industry improvement.
W. Boyd, St. Paul Companies, Norcross, GA.
Ergonomics is typically viewed as a safety issue. Cumulative trauma disorders, repetitive motion injuries, back injuries, and carpal tunnel syndrome are common phrases encountered with the implementation of an ergonomics program. Many safety professionals focus on the ergonomics analysis and not on the improvements. The safety professional needs to go beyond the safety issues and look at the overall business issues and the true benefit of an ergonomics process. The ergonomics process should be included as part of the quality management process. How can a company have a continous improvement process when the primary interface between the work and the worker is not evaluated?
Safety professionals need to go beyond looking at injury accident data and get into the actual business process which is the true advantage of a common sense business-oriented ergonomics process.
There will be two workplace examples presented. Both studies demonstrate the business advantage of an ergonomics process. These are actual examples involving the related production and injury costs. Throughout this presentation, principles of quality management will be utilized as guidelines for an ergonomics process.
S. Tooley, The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA.
Information technology over the last few decades has revolutionized the workplace. Now, the computer is the most commonly used tool in the office. As tasks are shifted from manual to the computer, there is less variety in our work. The results of long-term computer use include eyestrain, headaches, discomfort, and pain in assorted parts of the body. Lack of task variety can also reduce our effectiveness and productivity. Over the last decade the field of office ergonomics has evolved to help address this growing problem. Although a properly configured workstation is critical to a successful office ergonomic program, it is not the be all and end all of reducing the risk of musculoskeletal problems. Other office ergonomic concerns that are just as important include workload, workflow, task variety and psychological demands. This causes the need to increase the physical variety of the workday. Micro break and stretching software can have the impact of increasing physical work variety. This presentation will present findings of a pilot study on the effect of micro breaks and stretching on perceived user discomfort and stress when using the computer. The pilot results that justified a year-long Beta test will be presented along with preliminary Beta test findings.
J. Smagacz, Humantech, Ann Arbor, MI.
When it comes to workplace ergonomics, the construction industry presents very unique challenges. Unlike manufacturing or the office environment, the construction work site is variable and transient. The work itself tends to be nonrepetitive in nature with noncyclic tasks that often consist of long or irregular work cycles. It often appears difficult and costly to make ergonomic improvements because the work can change monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, or even by the minute. Despite these conditions and mindsets, there are countless methods to help control exposure to risk factors that may lead to the development of ergonomic injuries in the construction industry. This session will provide information and quick hits to help you understand and maintain a world-class construction environment for your employees. It will provide basic knowledge and improvements that will help you enhance the ergonomic conditions and practices in your construction workplace. You’ll come away with a better understanding of how you and the ergonomic improvements you make will have a direct impact on the health and safety—and productivity—of your construction business.
K. Lazor, U.S. DOL/OSHA, Washington, DC.
In April 2002, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao unveiled a comprehensive approach to ergonomics designed to quickly and effectively address musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace. OSHA developed a four-pronged ergonomics strategy to meet this goal through a combination of industry-specific and task-specific guidelines, outreach, enforcement, and research. Since the ergonomics strategy was announced, OSHA has made significant progress in each of the four areas of emphasis. OSHA staff will update the participants on the progress OSHA has made in each of these areas.
Posted May 30, 2004