'Sit up straight.' - ergonomics in the workplace - includes tips on workstation ergonomics

HR Magazine, Sept, 1998 by Kathryn Tyler

Wanda Purdy, senior loss-control consultant for IWIF, recommends observing employee behavior. "Are people wringing their wrists or stretching their backs? Have they tried to put things into their workplaces to make themselves more comfortable?" she asks.

If so, try to find out why. "Say, 'It looks like you may be a little uncomfortable. What types of aches and pains do you experience?' Listen and see what's there."

Rose recommends that companies consider "the whole area of telecommuting. What type of working conditions does the employee have at home?" He recommends home office visits by ergonomics analysts to help employees develop comfortable domestic workstations.

WHO SHOULD BE TRAINED

"You need to involve the worker, direct supervisors, engineers, purchasing people, the nurse or physician, the plant manager, HR manager, and top management," says Roth. "Start with senior management. Describe the benefits of ergonomics, realistic time frames and expected costs." And make sure managers understand the benefits of the training so they support it.

Immediate supervisors "are valuable for spotting ergonomics problems at the source," she says. "Safety, health and medical personnel need to be expert resources, thoroughly trained in the relationship between the job requirements and injury. If you cannot diagnose an ergonomics problem, you can't treat it appropriately." Additionally, Roth recommends giving employees with purchasing authority special training on what to look for when buying equipment.

Engineers should be trained to understand human capabilities and anthropometry (the study of human body measurements) so they can design work processes, equipment and tooling accordingly. For example, USAA engineers are improving the company's computer software. "We are engineering out software-created awkward movements that can end in injury," says Austin. One example: "Instead of users having to hit 'Control-Alt-F4' 20 times in a row, we're replacing it with one hot key."

Finally, front-line employees should receive awareness training. "Employees have a great deal of control over their own safety and health," says Roth. "If they're given a proper understanding of risk factors - such as deviant postures, excessive force or excessive repetition rates - employees are able to recognize the signs and symptoms of ergonomics injury and take necessary steps before serious damage occurs."

WHAT TO COVER

"Training should be job specific," says Roth. Rabourn agrees: "If you're only looking at office environments, it doesn't make sense to train on heavy lifting." The training should familiarize employees with the "things at work that might cause these problems," such as exposure to vibration or repetitiveness, says Rabourn. "Give real examples from people's workplaces."

USAA started its 90-minute training program in the late 1980s. "In the training we covered risk factors, the things employees can do, how things away from work can affect their RMIs and what we had to assist them," says Austin. "If you get to people when they're just beginning to have discomfort, you can prevent it from going to tendinitis or carpal tunnel."