Manual handling

Product review: Snow shovels

As ergonomists, we’re especially curious about all those products that are marketed as “ergonomically designed”. We recently bought two “ergo” snow shovels, and Kirsten volunteered to rate them, in comparison with a traditional shovel. You might see her review on our Linked in page and on our Facebook page. But if you’d rather read about it, then […]
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Our stories: Keeping municipal workers safe from musculoskeletal injuries

Municipal workers are one of the most important worker groups in our society. Without them, we wouldn’t have clean water, waste disposal, roads, or recreational spaces such as parks and arenas. Without these workers, towns and cities would be chaos. Naturally, everyone can imagine the importance of keeping these workers safe and healthy. One of […]
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Answering tough questions: How Applied Ergonomics Research can Benefit your Company

Does your company see itself as “leading edge”? Is “R&D” built into your process? If so, are you applying this approach to ergonomics and strain/sprain injury prevention? Applied research allows you to examine information about specific problems within your company. Research can lead to better work processes, ergonomics awareness and skills, and innovation. As practitioners, […]
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You know you need an ergonomist when…

Why do clients call us? Typically, organizations call us: when they need to build a library of physical and cognitive demands analyses after employees report discomfort or injury that they attribute to a job when the supervisor, HR Manager, JHSC, and Safety Professional are not able to identify a practical solution to the concern when […]
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Budgeting for ergonomics

Fall is budgeting time for many companies, so here’s your reminder to include ergonomics in next year’s budget. How much to budget? Here’s a real number. If you work at a small- to mid-size organization (100-700 employees), you should realistically budget $50,000 for ergonomics support. We’re assuming that your budget is not responsible for funding […]
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Should ergonomics training be provided regularly? If so, why?

Basic employee ergonomics training, as we described in a previous blog should be provided upon hire. But after that, do employees need ergonomics training? We argue that, yes, training should be provided regularly. Here’s why: Orientation is a blur. (“The mind can only absorb as much as the butt can endure,” or so said P. […]
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