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Live “Look-In” at the 2013 Michigan Safety Conference

By Josh Kerst, CPE

Josh Kerst at Michigan Safety Conference

Josh Kerst meets up with Kim Peterson & Kim Hildebrand from Universal Forest Products

 Nearly 3,000 safety professionals gathered in Grand Rapids this week for the 83rdannual Michigan Safety Conference.  It’s wonderful to reconnect with our friends to share mutual work experiences and advance the collective ergonomics/safety knowledge. 

There were many great sessions, but one of the highlights was a talk on “Evaluating Push/Pull Forces in a Healthcare Setting” by Teresa Fisk of Trinity Health (current Humantech client). Trinity Health operates a network of 47 acute-care hospitals, 432 outpatient facilities, 33 long-term care facilities, and numerous home health offices and hospice programs in ten states.   Terri shared that a significant number of their past incidents involved manual handling when caring services staff lifted, carried, and moved patients.   Trinity utilized ergonomic risk assessments with quantitative analysis of push/pull forces to identify root causes and at-risk tasks.  They started off by adopting a “no lift” policy with regard to patients and limiting all push/pull forces to < 35 pounds. To meet this objective, Trinity piloted several ergonomic equipment improvements such as patient lifts, improved 6-wheel carts, and even a unique inflatable patient transfer device called the Hovermatt.  This innovative lateral patient transfer device uses air to elevate patients in order to significantly reduce friction during pulling, has power grip handles, and comes with a portable powered air supply, making the transfer task easier and more comfortable for both patient and caregiver. Way to go Trinity Health! And thanks again for sharing at this year’s Michigan Safety Conference.


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Posted by humantech on April 17th, 2013

NSC Congress & Expo 2012 – The Cutting Edge of Safety

by Josh Kerst, CPE

Over 6,000 attendees have descended this week upon Orlando for the 100th anniversary of the National Safety Council Congress & Expo. There have been excellent keynote addresses from ergonomic knivesgovernment and industry leaders such as Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, E. Scott Geller as well as safety icons like Captain “Sully” Sullenberger.  These talks have been bolstered by over 50 interactive breakout sessions that have presented cutting edge methods to improve safety.

Speaking of cutting edge safety… I came across two innovative safety knife exhibitors that had developed their product with ergonomics in mind.  The two designs shown here from Pacific Handy Cutter (blue design) and Slice (green models) illustrate just how much these tools have improved.  Ergonomic features include the use of power grips, precision grips, anthropometrically friendly designs that support ambidextrous use.  Check back for more reports from this year’s NSC congress and expo

Best regards,
Josh


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Posted by humantech on October 24th, 2012

Office Ergonomics: Adjustability for a 90-Degree World

by Ryan Cowart, AEP

Traditionally, employees work in offices or cubicles that are designed to house three primary aspects of the work environment; receiving data, entering data, and communication.  Receiving data occurs in varying forms such as reading a book, listening to a webinar, or reading from a computer screen.  Data entry includes typing up a document on the visual display screen. Of course, communication is displayed in many ways; talking face-to-face, by phone, through e-mails, text messages, blogging, tweeting, etc.  Whatever modes of work we consider, however, the fact is that people move through a series of circular motions while our environments are created based on 90-degree angles.

If you take a look at the elbow and knee, we see their range of motion is along a circular pathway and is not restricted to stop at any 90-degree angle. Although the knee is anatomically limited by the nature of the patella (knee cap), the overarching idea of a circular range of motion is evident. Humans are able to interact with many surface orientations that are not congruent to our own because we have angular adjustability across the x, y, and z planes in every limb of our body.  Walls, floors, chairs, desks, and even our pens are designed principally on 90-degree angles.  Bottom line, we don’t always fit with our work environment.

Office ergonomics is about fitting the job to the person.  Therefore, we need to re-consider our right-angled workstations in order to reduce the risk of ergonomic injuries.  When I say injuries, I am discussing musculoskeletal disorders such as Tendinitis, Epicondylitis, Ganglion Cysts, and the infamous Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, to name a few.  We reduce the risk of these disorders by implementing adjustability into the office workstation.  By providing adjustability, we are designing for the majority of the working population instead of designing for the average.  There are a multitude of adjustable office products that are on the market right now and employees, in any environment, can truly benefit from even the slightest alteration.  If an employee performs well at work, the company will perform well.  Adjustability is your friend, so start implementing today!


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Posted by humantech on October 1st, 2012

Find It – Fix It: The Win-Win of High-Impact, Low-Cost Solutions

By Christy Lotz, CPE

For the last five years, Humantech has worked to recognize the hard work and impressive improvements of our clients by hosting the annual Find It – Fix It Challenge.  It is intended to recognize creative, sustainable, and high-impact solutions that address ergonomics issues in the workplace.

Humantech has created the Find It – Fix It Challenge due to the overwhelming number of amazing fixes we see during our RAPID Team Events® all year long.  However, we still run into cultures that view ergonomics as costly and resource exhausting.  Their focus is often on adjustable equipment which can be costly (e.g., height adjustable lift tables), and usually that adjustability function is never used.  We continually see and hear about the $300,000 equipment installations that are collecting dust!  These types of endeavors rarely include the operators, and they should.

By focusing on awareness and operator involvement, solid, practical and low-cost solutions can not only be implemented, but actually used by employees.  The entire Humantech staff, from consultants to administrators to our President, votes on the Find It – Fix It Challenge winners.  It is easy to tell which of the fixes had operator feedback and involvement. Here’s our winner from 2011.

Timken Find It – Fix It Challenge Winner 2011

There is about a month left to enter the 2012 Find It – Fix It Challenge, and we can’t wait to see what solutions your company has developed, so enter soon!


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Posted by humantech on August 14th, 2012

Update from the Applied Industrial Ergonomics Seminar

By Christy Lotz, CPEApplied Industrial Ergonomics Seminar

This week I delivered an Applied Industrial Ergonomics seminar in Los Angeles  hosted by Equipois.  Attendees from 10 different companies were able to apply the techniques they learned during class on the workstations at the Equipois  facility.  In addition, they were able to try the Equipois product line and feel the impact of the zeroG mechanical support arm as well as the company’s  new product, the XAr exoskeletal support arm.  This was a great couple of days, an awesome group of attendees, and superb hosts.  Can’t wait to come back in October for the next Los Angeles seminar. There is still room to register for the fall course,  if you’d like to join us!


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Posted by humantech on April 19th, 2012

Hands-free Liftgate: Ergonomic or Aggravating?

by Winnie Ip, CPE

With the North American International Auto Show underway in Detroit this week, conversation has naturally been centered aroundHands-free Liftgate cool cars and features to look for.  When Ford announced a couple of years ago their new hands-free liftgate feature to be found on 2013 Ford Escapes, a lot of buzz was created.  Check out the YouTube link here.

So what’s the ergonomics lowdown?

Pros:

  • Complete hands-free operation allows user to open liftgate even while holding a full load
  • Uses gesture-based technology borrowed from the interactive gaming community
  • Liftgate height can be programmed or adjusted manually to meet the needs of various users

Cons:

  • Users have to get very close to the liftgate to be able to activate the feature (sensor is under the vehicle)
  • Users have to move out of the way to avoid being smacked in the chin (upon opening) or head (upon closing)
  • Kicking motion required results in awkward postures (think of holding a mound of shopping bags and packages and balancing on one leg)

Even for someone who loves technology (think using my iPhone in between playing  rounds of bowling on my Wii) sometimes the traditional method may be best. What do you think?


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Posted by humantech on January 17th, 2012

Ergonomics Powered by Porsche

By Josh Kerst, CPE, CIE

Josh Kerst, CPEFor over 60 years, Porsche performance has been based on the intelligent ideas of its engineers, and that timeless principle has found its way into every aspect of its sports car production.  During a recent interview at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Matthias Mueller, Chairman of the Board of Management for Porsche AG, explained how using effective workstation and assembly line ergonomics is the company’s preferred method of increasing production within a fixed factory footprint.  Porsche’s 911 sports coupe plant in Stuttgart, Germany, plans to significantly ramp up production over the next few years.  The message is clear: effective ergonomics—There is No Substitute.

Go ahead and give the whole article a test drive.


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Posted by humantech on January 11th, 2012

The 2011 Find It – Fix It Challenge Winners Is…

We are proud to acknowledge The Timken Company in Manchester, CT as the winner of the 2011 Find It – Fix It Challenge and John Deere Turf Care in Fuquay-Varina, NC and Ashland Water Technologies in Nantou, Taiwan as Honorable Mentions.  We would also like to recognize all the participating companies that submitted entries to this year’s Challenge.  Not only does it take time and effort to implement and roll out effective ergonomics processes, but it takes time to conduct proper ergonomic assessments to determine which tasks cause the most risk for injury.

Timken Before

Timken - Before

Timken’s entry focused on improving the posture and comfort of the worker responsible for deburring a bull gear, weighing 856lbs., by improving its accessibility.  Prior to the fix, the worker manually deburred the gear twice – deburring is the finishing method used to smooth roughedges on metal.  The operation was performed with the gear placed on a cart and in a horizontal position. The worker had to stand and bend over the gear, in order to reach the gear teeth, for several hours. When the first side was complete, the gear was flipped 180-degrees to deburr the other side.

The company engineered a solution that raised the gear to eye level and positioned the gear to a vertical  and upright position.  Now the worker is able to perform the operation without bending.  This reduces the injury risk of handling the gear, decreases the time spent deburring, improves accessibility and comfort of the worker, and reduces the stresses placed on the neck, back, shoulders and elbows.

Timken - After

Prior to John Deere Turf Care’s Mid-Z Eyebolt entry, the operator had to manually turn a nut on the eyebolt, three-quarters of the way down, 240 times a day.  By mounting an air tool to a fixture with a foot control, the operator only has to start the nut; the tool turns the nut to its required location on the eyebolt within seconds.

Lastly, Ashland Water Technologies’ Raw Material Transfer fix eliminated all hand, leg and back issues. Prior to the improvement, the operator had to break apart frozen material by striking it with a stick. By providing equipment to compress the pail hard enough to break the frozen material, the operator is no longer required to manually strike the container.

All 200 entries submitted were proven to be successful and contribute towards maintaining and sustaining effective ergonomics processes.  Congratulations and thank you for sharing your ergonomics tips with us. View the recorded webinar announcing the winners and highlighting the 15 finalists or read the press release.  The 2012 Find It – Fix It Challenge is scheduled to kick off in early summer. 


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Posted by humantech on November 21st, 2011

Stability Ball vs. Office Chair

 By Miguel Gonzalez

Recently, I delivered a webinar titled, “Fad vs. Fact: Ergonomic Solutions” and one of the most popular topics questioned was the use of Swiss Ball Seating in the office compared to the traditional office chair.  This topic has beckoned answers from researchers for several years. The article titled, The Use of Stability Balls in the Workplace in Place of the Standard Office Chair, from CRE-MSD (Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders) just crossed my desk.  The authors conclude that stability balls should not be used as an alternative to the standard office chair since it does not provide any inherent benefits to the end user.  Additionally, they state, “The use of stability balls as a chair may actually increase the risk of developing low back discomfort and may increase the risk of sustaining an injury due to the unstable nature of the balls.” 

This research paper / article is a valuable supplement to the information my colleague and I presented in our webinar.  Please feel free to share your feedback or comments about your use of Swiss Ball Seating.  We would love to hear from you!


Find more in Article and Journal Reviews | Best Practices | Ergonomics | Office Ergonomics | Product Reviews | Uncategorized
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Posted by humantech on October 21st, 2011

Ergonomics for Back-To-School

With the start of a new school year here, many of us have purchased school supplies and are planning for another year of homework and school projects. For children, choosing the right backpack can be an important step toward reducing exposure to ergonomic risk factors. Consider purchasing an ergonomically designed backpack with the following features:

  • Wide, padded shoulder straps to minimize contact points and soft tissue compression
  • Multiple compartments to evenly distribute the weight of the load being carried
  • Extra padding on the inside of the backpack to protect the student’s low back
  • A waist belt to distribute the load, reduce stress in the lumbar region, and secure the pack while walking and bending

Additional backpack carrying tips include:

  • Carry less in your backpack.
  • Consider buying an extra set of books to keep at home to eliminate the need to carry books back and forth.
  • Tighten straps while wearing the backpack so the weight is close to your body, and don’t let the backpack ride below the waist.
  • Put the heaviest items closest to your back.
  • Kids should carry backpacks that weigh less than 10 to 15 percent of their body weight.

Upon arriving home from school, many students often find themselves completing schoolwork while sitting on the floor, a sofa, or a bed.  Establish a dedicated study area that includes the following:

  • A comfortable chair with adequate lumbar support
  • An adjustable footrest so that the student sits with the feet supported at all times
  • A solid writing surface with necessary office supplies within an easy arm’s reach
  • Sufficient lighting for reading and writing tasks
  • A quiet work area, free from excessive noise and distractions

Encourage your student to take frequent (but not too frequent) study breaks—and make it a great school year!


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Posted by humantech on September 19th, 2011

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