Egg-Shaped ErgoChair

Hummm, pull up to your computer screen ...

"The ErgoChair ($159) is a new ergonomic chair designed by a group of physicians, health practitioners and engineers in Switzerland to promote correct posture, to help strengthen the muscles in the abdominal area and the spine, and to take stress off the back and neck. The exceptionally uncomfortable-looking chair claims to relieve chronic lower back pain, weak abdominal muscles, and neck problems that often lead to headaches. I think it does this by encouraging you not to sit down!"   continued ...   (Via GadgetryBlog)

Ergonomic chair?

Driving - The Forgotten Side of Safety

Driving as part of a safety program ...

"Lockout/tagout, head and ear protection, slips, trips and falls, hazmat and ergonomics. They are all important safety terms and issues easily recognized by safety professionals. Less easily recognized are escape route driving, scanning 360 degrees, foul weather driving and recovery steering. If you are a safety professional, it isn't surprising if you aren't familiar with these safe driving terms. However, when you consider that traffic crashes are the leading cause of injury and death for American workers, it is easy to make the argument that driver safety is long overdue for more attention.

Traffic crashes far exceed any other cause of death for American workers. About one in four fatal work injuries in 2003 occurred in highway incidents. Annually, nearly twice as many people are killed in the workplace as a result of traffic crashes than for any other reason. A person who drives as a part of the job is three times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than a person who works in a controlled factory environment. So why does driver safety receive so little attention?

Many organizations will not address driver safety until an incident occurs involving a fatality, litigation or both. Organizations that instead take a proactive approach to driver safety soon learn the benefits this approach provides. By improving the safety environment of the driver's workplace, they also obtain a substantial return on their driver safety investment."   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Driver training as part of safety program.

2005 National Safety Survey: Focusing on Employees

Selling safety to employees and managers ...

"Can safety professionals build successful programs in an era of tight resources? The answer depends on whether they have the skill to engage managers and employees in the process.

Safety and health doesn't come without its share of headaches. Asked what was the biggest obstacle to getting his job done, one senior safety engineer complained about "employees and management second-guessing safety decisions." A safety advisor cited "underinformed managers making bad decisions impacting safety that undermine the effective function of the program and inhibit employee involvement." A corporate safety executive admitted her staff was "too small to meet our governance responsibilities as well as provide requested services to all our locations." A plant safety engineer curtly pointed to "too much work and a micro-managing corporate office."

And these were safety pros who said their organizations had world-class safety and health programs!"   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Selling safety.

Capitalist's perspective on Repetitive Strain Injury

Forbes magazine recognizes the problem but needs to correct the explanation ...

"Scott Reeves, a Personal Finance Editor at Forbes.com, has posted a somewhat misleading article on the prevention of Repetitive Strain Injury. While mainstream coverage of preventive tips and techniques is a wonderful thing, Mr. Reeves has managed to get a few things wrong.

Regarding wrist rests, he says: “A wrist rest will flatten out your hands and provide needed support.” Wrong-o. “Wrist rests” are there to remind you to elevate your wrist, not as a resting surface. Resting your wrist on a wrist rest causes compression of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel. In some cases this will cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and can certainly worsen it for those already suffering CTS. The word “rest” in the phrase “wrist rest” is confusing. Think of it as a wrist guide.

Refering to chair adjustment, Reeves writes: “Add or remove extra cushions and padding as you see fit. Arm rests or no arm rests? It’s up to you.” There are actually some pretty good guidelines available for how to tailor lumbar padding and arm rests. “…as you see fit…” and “It’s up to you.” are only useful with some explaination. See below for proper guidance on these areas."   continued ...   (Via Health-Hack)

A business magazine recognizing the problem.

Graphic Artists and Repetetive Motion Injuries.

RSI and the use of a graphics tablet ...

"This past year I’ve been battling aches and pains as a result of working behind a computer for over 6 years. Yep, the years of abuse have finally caught up with me and it’s official… at 30 years old, I’m no longer a spring chicken.

In my research to figure out what my specific ailments were caused by, I didn’t find a whole lot of help out there when it comes to the graphics community. Most everything out there is geared for typists and carpel tunnel syndrome…. The Graphics Artist Guild had probably the best information on the subject with this article: “Repetetive Motion Injuries - Symptoms and the Proper Work Place Set-up.”

The majority of my problem was caused by working waaaaaay too many hours using a Wacom Intuos 2 Graphics Tablet on a desk that was about 6 inches too high with a non-adjustable chair. As a result my shoulder was in constant strain and tension along with the ongoing mental stress of self-employment and looming project deadlines. Not a good combination. I worked like this for well over a year and never really gave the discomfort much of a second thought, just par for the course with this line of work I figured. That is until it started to effect the muscles down the center of my body that are right next to my lungs and ribcage. That got my attention."   continued ...   (Via Drawings & Sketches)

Wacom Intuos 2 Tablet.

Drug Offers Some Relief for Shift-Work Sleep Disorder

This could be a real safety benefit for shift workers and odd work hours such as pilots ...

"A recent study offers some potentially promising news for the thousands of Americans who suffer from shift-work sleep disorder.

The study, published in the Aug. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that treatment with 200 milligrams of the drug Modafinil helped reduce the extreme sleepiness common in patients with shift-work sleep disorder and resulted in a "small but significant" improvement in study participants' work performance compared with a placebo.

Of the study participants who took Modafinil, 74 percent saw improvements in their clinical symptoms when evaluated by a physician. Overall, those taking Modafinil fell asleep faster, focused their attention for longer periods of time during night work and avoided accidents or near-accidents while commuting home, according to the study."   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Trying anything to stay awake.

Stand Up to Office Stress

Consistant with taking breaks - stand up and get into a different position ...

"You know the drill. Get to the office. Sit down and stay there for most of the day. Get up nine hours later and go home.

If you're sick and tired of all that sitting, you're not alone. A survey earlier this summer found that people would rather stand than sit for at least part of the day.

In an online survey of 500 people, 57 percent said they'd like to stand up for at least part of the day. Further, 69 percent said they would prefer to be on their feet when they talk to co-workers."   continued ...   (Via RedNova)

Changing position when working.

- Editor's Notebook: Which OSHA Do You Know?

A survey with worisome results ...

OSHA the ogre or OSHA the dedicated public safety agency – which identity is real? Our 2005 National Safety Survey may shed some light.

The recent debate in the U.S. House of Representatives over H.R. 742, the bill introduced by Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., illustrates the continuing schism over OSHA, an agency that is 35 years old but remains an ideological lightning rod. The Norwood bill would allow small businesses to recover their legal costs if they successfully mount a challenge to an OSHA citation.

Given this Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde debate over OSHA, it may be instructive to see how occupational safety and health professionals, the group of citizens arguably most in touch with the agency, view it. In our 2005 National Safety Survey, more than 1,000 EHS professionals answered seven questions about the agency's competence and resources.

* Is OSHA adequately funded? – Only 23 percent of our respondents said the agency has enough money to do its job properly. Now, this doesn't tell us why they think more money is needed. It could go to hire more inspectors, to spur development of standards or to provide further compliance assistance to businesses. Many safety and health professionals compare the OSHA budget of $468 million to EPA's funding of $8 billion and ask why the protection of working Americans seems to get short shrift.

* Does OSHA have sufficient compliance officers? – Some 76 percent of our respondents said "No." In their view, OSHA needs more "cops" on the beat to inspect the 6 million workplaces in its jurisdiction."   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

OSHA uder the gun.

2005 National Safety Survey: Focusing on Employees

Safety programs have to be sold to management and employees ...

"Can safety professionals build successful programs in an era of tight resources? The answer depends on whether they have the skill to engage managers and employees in the process.

Safety and health doesn't come without its share of headaches. Asked what was the biggest obstacle to getting his job done, one senior safety engineer complained about "employees and management second-guessing safety decisions." A safety advisor cited "underinformed managers making bad decisions impacting safety that undermine the effective function of the program and inhibit employee involvement." A corporate safety executive admitted her staff was "too small to meet our governance responsibilities as well as provide requested services to all our locations." A plant safety engineer curtly pointed to "too much work and a micro-managing corporate office."

And these were safety pros who said their organizations had world-class safety and health programs!"   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Safety starts with you - and management.

Realistic, Cost-Effective Ergonomics for Real People

The K.I.S.S. method applied to ergonomics ...

"Using a simpler approach to ergonomics and stressing design that fits actual workers can reduce costs and result in a safer, more productive workplace.

To reduce the costs associated with injuries and wasted effort, ergonomic principles should be applied to every possible work area to boost productivity and efficiency, and to improve human well-being. A cost-effective, practical approach to ergonomics is more hands-on than theoretical. The process involves anyone who can add value to get the most done with the lowest costs. This frugal, practical approach meshes well with the lean manufacturing philosophy that is in implementation in many workplaces.

Ergonomics, although a legitimate science, isn't rocket science. Ergonomics does not have to be complicated in every application. The downfall of the OSHA ergonomics regulation a few years ago was due to a number of factors, but public indignation over the paperwork burden it would have created must have been a main one. All that documentation would have taken up lots of time at the expense of the time available to fix anything in the workplace."   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Keeping ergonomics sweet and simple.

Warning over texting danger

Text messaging has its perils ...

"Last year, 79m texts were sent in the UK on GCSE results day, and the phenomenon is particularly popular among teenagers.

Now the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is warning that young thumbs could be in line for a nasty case of repetitive strain injury.

RSI - an occupational hazard for typists - has spread as computers become more common."   continued ...   (Via icWales)

The personal touch.

OSHA Agreements Cancelled - Ergonomics

Less, not more? ...

"Ergonomics agreements made between OSHA and large companies during the Clinton Administration would have likely dissolved on their own due to upcoming expiration dates. For an undisclosed reason, this month the Bush Administration went out of its way to cancel those agreements.

OSHA's Ergonomic Standard of 2000 was supported by Unions and fought by businesses. It was regulation designed to protect workers from injury. The Standard remained in effect until 2002, when the Bush administration overturned it, and replaced it with a "four pronged, comprehensive approach". Although many industries made the committment to participate, this new program has been lacking in funds and support from politicians. Additionally, OSHA has not been monitoring the Clinton agreements for quite some time."   continued ...   (Via BellaOnline)

Any body home?