How ergonomics can preserve the smile on your face
Check out our article in the Ergonomics Canada 2018 magazine!
15
Jun, 18
What is the supervisor’s role in ergonomics?
A supervisor has a legislated responsibility for musculoskeletal injury prevention (aka ergonomics) that s/he rarely understands, and often has difficult fulfilling effectively. The supervisor needs to: – be an expert in the best work practices that his or her workers are expected to use. Sometimes it’s difficult even for experienced workers to identify, agree on, […]
07
Jun, 18
Lean and mean?
How the elimination of “waste” from production is increasing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) amongst workers. by Karen Hoodless I recently attended a webinar given by Dr. Patrick Neumann (Associate Professor in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at Ryerson University), where he “Exposes the link between MSDs and Lean Production.” Most people have […]
Fanshawe College Advanced Ergo Program’s first set of grads
At the end of April, the first batch of Fanshawe College’s “Advanced Ergonomic Studies” program graduated, and were placed with a variety of hosts, as interns, typically under the mentorship of an experienced ergonomist. Remarkably, the internships are unpaid, so over 20 companies benefited from this program. The interns all have undergraduate degrees, in addition […]
29
May, 17
Does your office ergo assessment process work?
We know ours does. How? We follow up. Our ergo assessment process starts AND ends with a comfort survey, which we score. We therefore have quantitative baseline measures of discomfort, by body part, which we can cross-reference to ensure that the changes that we made improved the situation. There are many comfort surveys available, so […]
16
Sep, 16
“CELEBRATE” Global Ergonomics Month like the Holiday it Should Be
You’ve never heard of “Global Ergonomics Month”, let alone celebrated it? Here’s how we suggest recognizing this most worthy event, in October: Put up decorations! We don’t mean tinsel and wreaths. We mean posters. Provide practical, graphic, easy-to-follow instructions that will help people make a positive change in their workstation adjustments or work methods. For […]
Are you in compliance with the “MOL Approved Ergonomic Guidelines”?
We recently came across a job posting for an ergonomist. (No, we’re not looking for a job—we just like to know what’s going on.) The job responsibilities included “evaluating…parts as well as assembly processes to ensure that they are in compliance with Ministry of Labour’s approved Ergonomic Guidelines.” We were startled! The MOL has “approved” […]
11
Sep, 15
Ergo training prevents injuries (Sneak preview of one of our ergo conference presentations)
If you haven’t registered for the October 5-8 Association of Canadian Ergonomists conference, it’s not too late – in fact, the early registration deadline has been extended to Monday, Sept 15! Click here to register for the conference, being held in Waterloo, ON. We are presenting two papers there. Josie will be presenting a “reject conveyor” case […]