Ergonomics Education

Ergonomics Education

For Injury Reduction

Goals:

1. Define ergonomics and its benefits

2. Identify work activities that can lead to injury

3. List examples of ergonomic principles that reduce risk of injury

4. Participate in your company’s ergonomic efforts

5. Identify parts of the body that get injured at work

6. Recognize and report signs and symptoms of injury early

Definitions

• Work-related: caused, aggravated, exacerbated by work place exposures (WHO, 1985)

• WMSD: A acronym for disorders and diseases of the musculoskeletal system… tendon, muscle, nerve, & joints (Hagberg, 1995)

Definition of ergonomics

• Ergonomics means

““fitting the job to the worker”fitting the job to the worker”

“Ergonomics is the science and practice of designing jobs and workplaces to match the capabilities and

limitations of the human body.”

Ergonomics @ Work

Risk of injury - Heavy lifting Cart reduces risk of injury

Benefits of ergonomics

• Ergonomics helps to prevent injuries

• Ergonomics has other benefits

– Improved quality of work

– Improved quality of life

– Reduced fatigue and discomfort

Injuries and risk factors

Injuries and Risk Factors

In this section:

• What are WWork-related MMusculo SSkeletal DDisorders (WMSDsWMSDs)?

• Common types and symptoms of injury

• Causes and prevention of injury

Work-related Musculo Skeletal Disorders (WMSDs)?

• Also known as:– CCumulative TTrauma DDisorders (CTDsCTDs)– RRepetitive SStrain IInjuries (RSIsRSIs)– Overuse injuries

• Soft tissue injuries• Usually develop gradually, but sometimes can

appear suddenly• Can be serious, if not taken care of early

What are some of the symptoms of WMSDs?

• Discomfort

• Pain

• Numbness

• Tingling

• Burning Sensation• Swelling• Change in color• Tightness, loss of

flexibility

Reporting In the Workplace

• Overall, research found that – 22% of all office workers reported pain to the

workplace

• Among those workers with pain (599), 362 (the majority) did not report pain to the workplace

• So there is a threshold for reporting pain.• Of the 362 with pain in the last year:

– Most did not give a reason– 85 did not report because symptoms were mild or not

considered a problem

(Hogg-Johnson et al., in preparation)

What causes WMSDs?

Risk Factors– Awkward Postures– High Hand Force– Repetitive Motions– Repeated Impacts– Heavy, Frequent, or Awkward Lifting– Moderate to High Hand-Arm Vibration

Risk Factors

Risk of injury depends upon:– Duration (how long)– Frequency (how often)– Intensity (how much)– Combinations of risk factors

Risk Factors

Duration – usually need hours of exposure before risk

factors become a concern

– Can be all at one time or cumulative over the day

Focus on our Core

What's the spine for anyway?

• Primary stabilizer of the body

• Shock absorber

• Increases agility and range of motion

• Protects the spinal cord

Causes of Back injuries

• Trauma– Any outside force to the body causing injury such

as a car accident or fall incident

• Overuse– The body is not designed to perform the same

motion over and over for an extended period of time so muscles and tendons can get irritated and ligaments can break down

• Postural dysfunction – adaptive changes in muscle length ( too short or too

long) decrease its ability to function properly– Creates joint compression leading to cartilage and

disc breakdown

Some Numbers

• In an office setting, (Polanyi et al., 1997): – 60% of workers reported having neck or

upper limb pain over the past year

• In an auto parts manufacturing company, (Wells et al., 2000): – 80% of workers reporting some

musculoskeletal (MSK) pain (includes back and legs as well) over the past year

Risk factors for WMSDs

Awkward posturesAwkward postures

Standing neutral posture Seated neutral posture

Head level

Shoulders relaxed

Feet supported

Wrists straight

Elbows at sidesLow back supported

Neutral postures

Posture and Spinal Pressure

Great! Resting on Back Very Bad – Posture & Force

For more than 2 hours per day

Hands over head or elbows above shoulders

For more than 2 hours per day

Neck bent more than 30°

For more than 2 hours per day

Back bent more than 30°

For more than 2 hours per day

Squatting

For more than 2 hours per day

Kneeling

Wrists bent

Reducing awkward postures

• Change workstation heights & display heights

• Tilt or rotate the work

• Use platforms

• Bring items within easy reach

• Pause to stretch

Case Study

Reducing awkward postures

The Key to Good posture

• Standing– Neutral head position– Shoulders and spine square over the

hips– Hips square over the feet– Non-heeled shoes

• Sitting– Feet flat on the floor– Hips and spine at a 90° angle– Spine supported against the back

rest

Risk factors for WMSDs

Heavy, frequent or awkward liftingHeavy, frequent or awkward lifting

• Lifting 75 lbs. once per day

• Lifting 55 lbs. more than 10 times per day

Heavy lifting

• Take smaller loads at one time

• Use mechanical assistance - handtrucks, carts, hoists, conveyors

• Get help from a co-worker

Reducing heavy lifting

• Lifting more than 10 lbs., more than twice per minute, for more than 2 hours per day

Frequent lifting

• Use mechanical assistance

• Slide objects instead of lifting them

• Rotate lifting tasks with co-workers if possible

Reducing frequent lifting

• Lifting more than 25 lbs. above the shoulders, below the knees or at arms’ length more than 25 times per day

Awkward lifting

• Store items where you won’t have to bend or reach to lift them

• Use rolling stairs to get items down from high shelves

Reducing awkward lifts

Oliver-Tolas Observations

• Poor standing and sitting posture

• Work stations too high and too low

• Poor body mechanics– Bending from the back and over reaching– Leaning on one leg– Lifting and twisting

Lifting positions

• Squat– Generally used for heavy lifting

• Staggered– Generally used for heavy lifting as an alternative to the squat position

• Golfers lift– Named after the technique golfers used to pick up their tee’s. Used for very light

objects

Safer Lifting

Always lift from the legs…never from your back

Keep your spine in a neutral position by contracting your abdominals

The closer you hold the object to you, the less strain it will place on your spine

Far from Torso

No leg muscles used!

Exhale on the way up when lifting extremely heavy objects

What youyou can do:

• Recognize and report symptoms early. early.

• Get involved in ergonomics

Symptom recognition and reporting

• Report symptoms if:–Pain is persistent, severe or

worsening–Pain radiates–Symptoms include numbness or

tingling–Symptoms keep you from sleeping

at night

Why is it important to report symptoms earlyearly?

• Chronic injuries sometimes lead to disability, even surgery

• The earlier treatment is rendered the more successful it can be in preventing lifelong problems

Getting involved

• Look at jobs and help identify problems

• Come up with solutions

• Work with solutions

• Take part in training

• Take responsibility for changing the way you do your job

• Help to make sure efforts are successful

…YouYou can play an important part

• YouYou may be asked to participate in:– Analyzing caution zone jobs for hazards

– Finding solutions to these hazards

– Evaluating the success of the solutions

• Later, youyou may…– be given job specific training on proper use of solutions

– keep in touch with ergonomics efforts through the safety committee or at safety meetings.

Key points to remember

Ergonomics can help you on your jobRisk factors can be reduced and WMSDs

preventedYou can help your company put

ergonomics changes into placeWMSDs can happen in jobs with risk

factorsReporting symptoms earlyearly is important

Thank you

Quiz Time!!