Work-related lifting injuries on the rise

Ergonomics program to prevent lifting injuries ...

"Injuries caused by lifting affect nearly every business – from restaurants to manufacturers – and account for more than 10 percent of all workers’ compensation claims in the state.

“Back injuries are really one injury that transcends all environments,” said Christopher Benson, senior loss-prevention consultant at The Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. “You could be working in manufacturing, in nursing or in an office and have a back injury.” Unfortunately, there are warning signs that more lifting injuries can be expected.

“What worries me is the work force is aging, and I expect we’ll see injuries go up,” said Jeff Johnson, a spokesman for Beacon Mutual. “Even people in their 20s are less in shape than they used to be, and being out of shape can lead to throwing your back out.”

Because of this, both employers and insurance companies are continually looking for ways to prevent these injuries – through ergonomics, mandatory stretching exercises and workshops on how to lift properly."   (Continued via Providence Business News)       [Ergonomics Resources]

"Proper equipment" can prevent many office injuries

The cost of office injuries ...

"Office injuries don’t usually result in spilled blood or crushed limbs, but like other on-the-job injuries, they can result in lost workdays, lost productivity and thousands of dollars in workers’ compensation claims.

The Beacon Mutual Insurance Co.’s rates for clerical employers average about 48 cents per $100 in payroll dollars, far lower than the state average of $2.13 per $100, said Jeff Johnson, spokesman for the insurer. By comparison, hospitals pay about $1.50 per $100 in payroll costs, and roofing companies pay about $33 per $100.

... In cases requiring carpal tunnel surgery, a claim can amount to $90,000 to $175,000, counting both direct and indirect costs, according to statistics from the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

But carpal tunnel claims overall have been declining in frequency for the past decade, Benson said. “We see lower-back injury, because of the amount of time sitting in one place."   (Continued via Providence Business News)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Arms and Shoulders Ache? Try Exercise

A response to the notion that Exercise is better than Ergonomics for upper body aches ...

"If your upper body aches at the end of the workday, exercise may be the way to ease your soreness.

In fact, exercise might help more than some more expensive ergonomic interventions, Dutch researchers note in The Cochrane Library.

Researcher Arianne Verhagen, PhD, MSc, a physiotherapist at Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and her team reviewed 21 studies on work-related arm, neck, and shoulder complaints. The studies included 2,110 patients.

"On the whole, I give exercises the benefit of the doubt, but technically not all studies show positive results," Verhagen tells WebMD, in an email.

The Ergonomics Alternative

Ergonomics has for decades been considered a solution to such workplace problems. It's the way your physical environment -- such as your work space or computer -- interacts with your body.

For instance, your computer keyboard may be placed at an angle that strains your wrists. Or maybe you hunch over your desk, or wedge your phone between your ear and shoulder.

Doing that for hours, day after day, year after year, may create pain in the back, shoulders, or wrists. Ergonomic interventions are intended to make your work space and equipment better suit your activities. Some computer keyboards and chairs are designed with proper ergonomics in mind."   (Continued via WebMD)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Is Your Emergency Response Adequate?

Evacuation as part of your safety program ...

"Many organizations’ procedures for evacuating their premises in an emergency are outdated and inadequate for dealing with modern day threats, delegates at the 2006 National Safety Symposium will be told.

Simon Ancliffe, managing director at specialist emergency planning consultants Evacuation Strategies, will reveal that in the post 9/11 environment in which organizations operate, traditional methods of evacuation are no longer fit for purpose.

“Traditional evacuation techniques are based on the threat of fire. That’s not sufficient for the wide range of threats we face today. If your organisation was faced with a 9/11-type situation, assembling in the car park only 50 feet away would clearly not be adequate. But too many organisations have not thought about, or realised, this,” Simon said.

Simon will also tell the symposium, which takes place at the Holiday Inn, in Leicester city centre on 4-5 September, that communication with staff in an emergency also needs to be clearly thought through and drummed home regularly before an emergency occurs."   (Continued via Safety Online)       [Ergonomics Resources]

HSE guidance to help shiftworkers run like clockwork

Establishing standards for shiftwork safety ...

"Raising awareness of the health and safety risks of shift work and suggesting sensible measures employers, safety representatives and employees can use to reduce the negative impact of shift work is the aim of a new publication from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

More than 3.5million people in the UK work shifts, across a variety of sectors including public services and heavy industry. Poorly designed shift-working arrangements and long working hours that do not balance the demands of work with time for rest and recovery can result in fatigue, accidents, injuries and ill health.

Drawing together advice and best practice from a range of sources, "Managing Shift Work: Health and Safety Guidance" explains employers' legal duties and the risks associated with shiftwork and provides advice on risk assessment, design of shift work schedules and the shift-work environment."   (Continued via Government News Network)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Exercise Surpasses Ergonomics in Treating Work Injuries

Exercise prescription for upper body injuries ...

"Exercise, not ergonomics or other "conservative" methods such as physiotherapy, is the most effective strategy for treating work-related complaints of the upper body, according to studies performed in the Netherlands.

Investing in expensive ergonomic equipment such as special keyboards and office furniture have only limited effectiveness in treating work-related ailments, according to an updated systematic review by Arianne Verhagen, Ph.D., a physical therapist at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam.

Exercise, however, emerged as "a very good thing to do," she said.

Still, Verhagen said it isn't wise to do away with ergonomics completely. She claimed "conservative interventions such as physiotherapy and ergonomic adjustments play a major role in the treatment of most work-related complaints of the arm, neck or shoulder."

The review appears in the current issue of the Cochrane Library, a publication of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care."   (Continued via Occupational Hazards)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Bizarre Keyboard takes Ergonomics to the Limits

Looking at the Maltron keyboard in terms of RSI benefits ...

"The Maltron keyboard is the strangest, costliest keyboard around which claims to take ergonomics to the next level.

This whacky looking keyboard is supposed to increase your efficiency, as the Maltron allows you to use all 10 fingers compared to the usual 8 fingers with a conventional keyboard. Theoretically this could boost your typing speed by 20 %. This unique keyboard also helps prevent RSI (repetitive stress injuries). At the heart of the Maltron keyboard are Cherry MX switches, considered the best keyboard switches in the industry. Cherry switches are known to last 50 million key strokes per key!

One of the major causes of RSI is the need to pound the membrane key switches to make it activate. This constant pounding takes a toll on the human body over the years. Cherry MX key switches activate HALF WAY thru the key stroke. This means that the user does not have to pound the keys into the base of the keyboard and should reduce the stress on the human body."   (Continued via LaptopLogic.com)       [Usability Resources]

Maltron Keyboard

Accessoogle?

Opening Google to visually impared ...

"In case you missed it, Google unveiled Accessible Search last Thursday. Built upon Google's Co-op technology, Accessible Search is an "early-stage experiment" designed to help blind and visually-impaired people find web content that is best suited to their text-to-speech software.

Users simply enter a query and hit the "Search" button to receive a list of results prioritised by level of accessibility. Google defines accessibility as "pages that degrade gracefully - pages with few visual distractions and pages that are likely to render well with images turned off".

Providing one set of search results to disabled users and another to the rest of the population? Hmmm. Sounds like discrimination to us ;P Seriously though, won't it be great if Google's Accessible Search eventually replaces Google Search? Then organisations will have a real incentive to make their websites accessible!"   (Continued via Etre)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Even the best websites can be difficult for disabled people says Socitm report

Need to do a better job of Web accessibility ...

"New research by a panel of disabled users for Socitm Insight has revealed that even the best websites can cause usability and accessibility problems for people with disabilities including visual problems, impaired motor skills and dyslexia.

The findings are set out in a report presented at the recent Socitm Insight/Headstar conference Building a Perfect Website that took place in London on July 11.

The user testing was organised by the Usability Exchange, with a group of seven disabled testers of mixed gender, age, and experience, including people with blindness, partial sight, dyslexia, profound deafness, cerebral palsy, and lack of dexterity in the hands. The group carried out the tests with their own computer equipment including screen readers (for blind users) and screen magnifiers (for the visually impaired).

Testers were asked to complete the same two tasks on each of the websites named as ‘top twenty’ sites in the 2006 edition of Better connected, Socitm Insight’s annual survey of all local authority websites. Task one was to use the council website to find the council’s switchboard phone number, and task two was to report an abandoned car through the website.

Council websites were given a 1-star rating if all disabled testers were able to complete task one, a simple task for a council website. A 2-star rating was given if all disabled testers were able to complete both Task 1 and Task 2, a complex transaction-based task. A 3-star rating was awarded if all disabled testers were able to complete both Task 1 and Task 2 with no tester reporting any accessibility or usability problems in the process.

The results showed that 19 out of the 20 local authorities (95%) achieved a 1-star rating or better. Seven out of the 20 (35%) achieved a 2-star rating, but none achieved a 3-star rating, meaning that for every local authority tested, accessibility or usability problems were reported by at least one user. The best received three reported problems and the worst nineteen such problems, with the average 9.5 problems."   (Continued via PublicTechnology.net)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Interview with Niels Diffrient, creator of Humanscale's Freedom chair, Liberty chair

An interview with an early ergonomics expert ...

"You’ve been involved with designing for ergonomics since it was referred to as "human factors engineering." How have you seen ergonomics develop over the years?

Ergonomics is not that old a practice as an organized pursuit. Largely, that only began with any amount of seriousness after Word War II. During the war, the implements of warfare began to get so sophisticated it was necessary to adapt them to the potential of the soldiers. So the army, mostly, began to collect data on the sizes of its soldiers. Theirs was the first organized effort to keep data and it grew from there. This first serious collection of data was then available for peace-time use after the war.

How did you become an ergonimics expert?

People connect me with human factors, or ergonomics, but I don’t consider myself an expert in this field. I’m committed to making sure that my products fit and adapt to the people who are going to use them. Therefore, I’m a very committed user of all the data and experience that grows out of ergonomics. I know because I’ve published in the field, it’s assumed I’m some kind of academic who has a concentration in human factors, but I remain a designer."   (Continued via Pure Contemporary)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Exercise Better Than Ergonomics to Treat Upper-Body Work Injuries

An argument for exercise to treat upper body injuries ...

"Many conservative methods used to treat work-related complaints of the upper body have only limited effectiveness, according to an updated systematic review by Arianne Verhagen, Ph.D., and her colleagues in the Netherlands. Exercise, however, emerged as “a very good thing to do,” she said.

Yet, “conservative interventions such as physiotherapy and ergonomic adjustments play a major role in the treatment of most work-related complaints of the arm, neck or shoulder,” said Verhagen, a physical therapist and epidemiologist at the Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam.

As for expensive ergonomic equipment like special keyboards and office furniture, little scientific evidence currently exists to support their use.

The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.

Verhagen updated a review published in 2003, which had included 15 trials. She added six new trials for a total of 2,110 adult participants. Most were industrial workers or hospital staff who suffered with chronic complaints varying between three and 12 months. Workers with inflammatory or neurological diseases were not included."   (Continued via Newswise)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Microsoft finds that more Screens are better

Boosting productivity with multiple monitors ...

"Microsoft Sees Productivity Boost In Setup of Three Screens Per Worker" by Lee Gomes in the Wall Street Journal (subscription needed for access) reports from the Center for Information Work at Microsoft Corp. where folks are researching how office workers use computers.

Mary Czerwinski, who manages the group, has looked into the relationship between the monitors that people use and their productivity at office tasks. The upshot of her research: bigger monitors are better, and while two monitors are good, three are ideal...

Czerwinski is quote as saying: '"We've found that it is hard to squeeze extra productivity benefits out of people. They are already pretty good at multitasking. And so squeezing 9% out of a user is an incredibly large amount. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is."   (Continued via Usability News)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Workers Should Take Extra Measures To Stay Safe in Heat

It's that time of year to worry about overheating ...

"The heat wave of 2006 has the nation sweltering in temperatures climbing as high as 100 degrees. Such heat poses a health threat to everyone from coast to coast, but as conditions remain oppressive in the coming days, employers and workers should take necessary precautions.

According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), heat-induced occupational illnesses, injuries and reduced productivity can occur with excessive exposure to a hot work environment. Aside from causing potentially life-threatening conditions such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke, hot weather and working conditions can contribute to accidents that occur as the result of sweating, slippery palms, fogged up safety glasses and dizziness. Severe burns also can occur as a direct result of accidental contact with hot surfaces and steam.

Keeping a watchful eye on signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke can make a difference in preventing a fatality, according to OSHA. The agency has devised a series of products for employers and employees to utilize when temperatures soar."   (Continued via Occupational Hazards)       [Ergonomics Resources]

Children Getting Wired Early for High Tech

Increased ergonomics health risk for kids using tech equipment ...

"As technology has steadily crept into the family over the years, each of the boys has adopted it earlier than his brothers.

"In the period of 10 years, between the cellphones, the GameCubes, the Game Boys and everything else ... there's been a huge jump," said Chris McGrath, 46. "Today, they have all these different little high-tech gimmicks to keep them entertained."

Like the McGrath boys, most kids are adapting to technology earlier than ever before.

Children in the United States are using video games, cellphones and portable music players by age 7 --- about six months earlier than just a year ago, according to a recent online survey of 3,540 parents.

On average, kids use televisions by age 4, desktop computers and video game systems by about age 6, and cellphones and portable digital media players by around age 9, according to the survey.

That's good news for the electronics industry, but is it healthy for kids? A growing number of experts are beginning to wonder.

"There is enough evidence out there to say that if you overuse any of these technologies, you're going to have problems," said Alan Hedge, a professor of ergonomics at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Claims of electronics-related health problems in kids are growing."   continued ...   (Via Mac News)

New approach to hearing protection

New ways to reduce noise for workers ...

"The incidence of noise induced hearing loss is as high as 60% in noisy workplaces. Brad Witt calls for a new approach by safety professionals, looking beyond traditional Sound Level Conversion class ratings in protective equipment to consider the human factors.

"In spite of growing awareness of hearing loss and increased efforts to combat it, the incidence of noise induced hearing loss among industrial workers continues to rise," says Brad Witt, Audiology and Regulatory Affairs Manager for the Hearing Safety GroupBacou-Dalloz.

He cites a study of the Australian construction industry (Milhinch, Dineen & Doyle, 1997) that has shown the incidence of noise induced hearing loss to be as high as 60% in noisy workplaces.

Witt calls for a new approach by safety professionals, looking beyond traditional Sound Level Conversion class ratings in protective equipment to consider the human factors that undermine hearing conservation efforts, he says, and look at new technologies now becoming available.

"By gaining a better understanding of how workers view noise, their hearing and hearing protection devices--as well as how they actually use safety protection tools on the job-safety professionals can make better purchasing choices and help reduce the likelihood of continued noise-induced hearing loss incidents." He advocates an approach based on what he calls the "four C's--Caring, Comfort, Convenience, and Communication."   continued ...   (Via Bacou-Dalloz)

We love... Ergonomics

A basic explanation of practical ergonomics ...

"Ergonomics is one of those things few of us ever think about, not because it's obscure but because it's so effective we take it for granted.

Ergonomics is the use of science to produce human- friendly designs. Usually that means making devices which fit comfortably with the appropriate parts of the anatomy. It can also involve sciences such as psychology, for example in design and positioning of signs for public or staff information.

Ergonomics is mostly about making life easier for us, but in some cases it does more than that. Industrial facilities designed without recourse to ergonomics can contribute to accidents, for example if a worker stumbles or loses balance reaching for inappropriately positioned machine controls.

Many of us will be familiar with non-application of ergonomics through ailments such as backache or repetitive strain injury. Office workers risk RSI if they spend long hours at computer keyboards, the standard form of which has evolved from the typewriter. The mouse, by contrast, has been designed to fit snugly under the hand, with the buttons falling automatically under the first two fingers."   continued ...   (Via icWales)

Safety Hits Home

Worker safety in the home ...

"With twice as many workers getting hurt in off-the-job incidents than at work, safety managers are beginning to see home safety as the final frontier for worker protection.

Meet Rover. He is an affable hound and a persistent home safety champion. His light-bulb nose goes "code red" when he sniffs out danger, while his trusty sidekick, Freddie Flashlight, helps Rover illuminate some of the hazards families face while at home.

No, this isn't a new Saturday morning cartoon. Rover and Freddie Flashlight are characters invented by the Home Safety Council to help teach young children how to make important safety decisions when confronting dangers at home. In the video, Rover instructs the kids to say "Code Red Rover, Grownup Come Over!" whenever they come across a safety hazard and need an adult to correct the situation.

Rover, also a Home Safety Council mascot, is used as a resource by companies nationwide as a means of getting their employees and employees' families involved in learning about home safety hazards. He is one of the many tools associations such as the Home Safety Council and the National Safety Council (NSC) use to assist employers in teaching workers the importance of off-the-job safety. The reason why these two councils are placing so much emphasis on the issue is because statistics indicate that today's workers are safer on the job than they are at home or in their communities."   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Alliance with American Industrial Hygiene Association Renewed

AIHA continuing ergonomics and safety programs ...

"Calling the Alliance with the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) a valuable and proven resource in fostering workplace safety and health, OSHA Administrator Ed Foulke today extended the agreement for an additional two years.

"OSHA has enjoyed an exceptional relationship with AIHA over the years; this Alliance is but one example of how we work together to make workplaces safer and more healthful for all employees," Foulke explained. "Together, we have accomplished much since first joining ranks nearly four years ago. It is important that we stay on course, and I look forward to continuing our association with the professionals at AIHA."

"AIHA is pleased to continue its longstanding, cooperative relationship with OSHA and look forward to continuing to work on important programs, products and services," added Frank Renshaw, AIHA President. "This Alliance will help ensure that today's workers and occupational health and safety professionals are being well served."

The OSHA and AIHA Alliance was first signed in October 2002. Since then, participants have worked closely together on numerous fronts, including the inclusion of updated resources on both OSHA's and AIHA's Web sites related to ergonomics and hazard communication issues. AIHA representatives now serve on editorial boards of 27 OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages, covering such issues as fire safety, machine guarding, radiation, personal protective equipment (PPE), and noise and hearing conservation, to name a few."   continued ...   (Via Safety Online)

Fueling Ergonomics in the Oil and Gas Industry

Ergonomics being added to EHS policies ...

"A company in the United Arab Emirates has recognized the importance of ergonomics as an integral component of EHS policies and practices.

The oil and gas industry has job requirements that are very labor-intensive, and if the employee is not regarded in the job design as well as the equipment and tools that are used, injuries and errors will occur.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), located in United Arab Emirates (UAE), has established a code of practice known as Occupational Health and Risk Management – Ergonomic Factors, which is testament to the fact that ADNOC has recognized the importance of ergonomics as an integral component of EHS policies and practices.

ADNOC shareholders are demanding that guidelines be established to implement ergonomics in the workplace in order to bring the company in line with the top 5 percent of the world's leading oil and gas companies, and to be recognized as a world-class organization. During 2004, the first steps were taken to launch ergonomic awareness campaigns. These programs consist of two phases:

Phase 1 involves the development of an ergonomics awareness program. Ergonomic surveys are carried out at headquarter facilities, laboratories, shipping terminals and off-shore and on-shore operating sites. Ergonomic assessments of the sites are conducted and educational materials are developed and used to raise the awareness of ergonomics among employees across all the facilities.

Phase 2 of the ergonomics program will involve a far more extensive and detailed evaluation of all facilities to identify specific ergonomic exposures that may create the potential for human error and injury. Production may be impacted and a series of ergonomic solutions will be recommended for implementation to reduce or mitigate the pre-identified risk factors."   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Putting Safety on Climate Control

Getting the most out of your safety program ...

"Your company is an industry leader, and management has invested in elaborate safety programs. So why can't you excel at safety?

Some companies have elaborate, expensive safety programs that achieve only slightly better-than-average results. The reason can be a great mystery, especially when the company is an industry leader, excellent at making a product or providing a service. Why is it when they're so good at everything else, they can't excel at safety?

The answer is simple: None of the safety effort is focused on what the average employee thinks about the company, and those attitudes are affecting the safety results. Poor attitudes influence workers to make decisions that aren't always in the best interest of the company. But there is hope. When attitudes largely are guided by what psychologists call "organizational climate," it's possible to influence attitudes for the better.

Organizational climate is the atmosphere of the company. It's seemingly an intangible, but can be measured in terms of morale, trust, leadership credibility, fairness in rewards and other factors. Climate influences employee decisions, attitudes and behaviors.

Organizational climate has been studied for years by organizational psychologists. Some of the significant research was done 30 or more years ago. It's been proven to affect employee attitudes and resulting behaviors."   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Eight Ergonomics Essentials

A good list of basic office ergonomics advice ...

"It's been a wonderful 18 months sharing information about ergonomics with you in the Gilroy Dispatch, the Hollister Free Lance and more recently the Morgan Hill Times. It is my sincere hope that you now have at your disposal a host of useful ideas that you use regularly to keep yourself comfortable, safe and efficient in the home as well as the office. As I will be taking a breather from the figurative pen, I'd like to leave you with these bits of essential ergonomics advice:

1. Move frequently. I don't know which ergonomics sage said it first, but he or she put it well after being asked what the best working position was. The answer: "The best position is the next position." Movement is essential for good circulation and breathing, as well as nerve, joint and muscle function. I advise you to change tasks or positions, or use a mini stretch-and-breathe break every 20-30 minutes. You can even shift positions or stretch now as you read. Frequent movement can invigorate you and keep you from feeling sluggish as you go through your day.

2. Rest frequently. Rest, paradoxically, is closely related to movement from an ergonomics perspective. At times movement allows for rest. You must move in order to rest muscles that have been holding you in a sustained posture. For example, after a time of pulling weeds or sitting at a computer in a bent position, you must get up and straighten your back to give it a break from the sustained posture. Of course, there are also times when you must rest by not moving. Muscles and joints that have been moving too much, too forcefully or for too long need time to relax. Doing a completely different task or taking a restful break can help to accomplish this. Getting enough sleep is also essential to sustain the body and mind.

3. Use proper postures. It is important to try to work with your spine in good alignment and maintain its normal curves. Additionally, keep the shoulders relaxed and the wrists in neutral positions whenever possible, and protect the hips and knees from prolonged and repetitive bending. Learn to lift and move properly so that your stance is stable and your power comes from the strong leg muscles rather than the vulnerable spinal muscles."   continued ...   (Via Hollister Free Lance)

Could watching LCD TVs hinder your eyesight?

Do we have a problem with LCD displays? ...

"Amid the flat-panel TV sales boom, one study suggests that watching liquid crystal display TVs can affect people's eyesight to a degree that short relief would not be "sufficient" to bring eyes back to their normal status.

Dr. Macoto Takahasi, a human science professor at Osaka University of Education, yesterday revealed the results of his recent study on the correlation between watching flat-screen TVs and visual fatigue and acuity, at the Korea Display Conference 2006 currently held at COEX in Seoul.

The professor stressed the need to evaluate flat-screen TVs from an ergonomic point of view, while comparing LCDs and plasma display panels."   continued ...   (Via The Korea Herald)

Repetitive strain injury: 'How do we combat the crisis that time forgot?'

Another look at RSI over time ...

"Rewind a decade and repetitive strain injury (RSI) was the biggest health-scare story around in British offices. Workers up and down the country were becoming permanently disabled as a result of overusing their keyboards, it was reported. But 10 years on the story appears to have vanished from the media's radar. So has the problem vanished too?

Far from it. The latest official figures show that the number of British workers suffering from RSI has reached 448,000 - up by 52,000 in just one year. Tonic, a digital design agency in London, is among the growing number of companies that are getting worried.

"Twelve of our 50 staff have RSI," says Tonic's commercial director, Mark Porter. "So we'd like to know what measures we can take to help them, and also to prevent it occurring among other members of staff."   continued ...   (Via The Independent)

OSHA's Alliance with Airline Group Renewed; Ergonomics Issues in Baggage Handling Remains Focus of Four-Year-Old Alliance

Ergonomics agreement for baggage handlers ...

"An Alliance formed nearly four years ago among OSHA, a group of 12 airlines, and the National Safety Council's (NSC) International Air Transport Section was renewed recently to continue exploring ways to address ergonomic issues associated with the handling of passenger--checked baggage.

OSHA Administrator Ed Foulke signed the renewal June 14, keeping one of the agency's first Alliance Program agreements front and center in furthering workplace safety and health.

"This Alliance was developed with the hope of a continuing relationship with the airline industry that would focus on results," said Foulke. "Now, nearly four years later, we are continuing that successful collaborative effort to improve the workplace environment for a major portion of the aviation industry. The group's eagerness to continue this relationship demonstrates just how much we can do together for the safety of employees."

"We think the fact that we're renewing this OSHA Alliance for a fourth year is the most substantive statement we can make regarding the benefits to be repeated from a collaborative effort between industry and a regulatory agency," added Captain K. Scott Griffith, managing director, corporate safety and quality evaluations, American Airlines, speaking on behalf of the Airline Industry Alliance participants. "We truly appreciate OSHA's proactive and practical approach to helping us address issues to enhance employee safety."   continued ...   (Via Yahoo! News)

Defining Managed Fall Protection

Toward reducing falls in the workplace ...

"Proposed revisions to the ANSI Z359 family of standards establish a comprehensive, managed approach to fall protection.

Falls account for 8 percent of all fatal occupational injuries from trauma and some 36 percent of construction fatalities. Causes of fatal falls can include unstable working surfaces, misuse of fall arrest equipment and systems and human error due to lack of training.

Members of the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) Z359 committee hope the proposed revision of the voluntary standards will provide employers, employees working at heights, supervisors, fall protection program managers and system and equipment designers and engineers with the standardized approach they need to develop effective fall protection management programs.

"We don't want corporations buying one component of the standards, although they can," says Randall Wingfield, president and owner of Bainbridge Island, Wash.-based Gravitec Systems Inc. and chairman of ANSI Z359. "It's an entire family of documents that can be used to develop a full, managed, fall protection program."   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Mature Users seek Uncluttered Mobiles, claims Research

Simplicity in mobile devices ...

"The desire for a less cluttered, stress-free lifestyle is reaching into the sphere of mobile phones, according to research carried out by user-centred design company Instrata. Go into any mobile shop and you are faced with a bewildering array of models. The market may seem crowded but, with the focus on youth trends, manufacturers are still missing the mark for many consumers. Instrata's research set out to discover what consumers in the UK and other European countries aged 30 and upwards really want.

The research examined attitudes to mobiles, and levels of satisfaction. It soon became clear that many consumers are unhappy with the choice available. There is a perception that mobiles are over complicated, feature driven and aimed at the youth market. However, when asked about recent simplified models, many participants assume they are for "old or disabled people".

... These consumers feel that the more user-friendly the better, but not at the expense of style and image. They come from all adult age groups and share the frustration that their requirements are not fully understood. The prevailing mobile culture seems to imply that more equates to better, and simplicity means 'dumbed-down'. When phones are created for the older market they do not have the styling or personalisation that these consumers want, or if they do, the marketing concentrates on what they feel are the more patronising aspects of improved usability instead of innovation."   continued ...   (Via Usability News)

Ford helping heftier people fasten their (longer) seat belts

Designing for the 95th plus percentile ...

"Do you have to fasten not only the driver's but also the passenger's safety belt around you when you slip behind the wheel?

With nearly one of every three Americans rated "obese" by the American Medical Association, you just might.

And car companies are addressing the problem. Hard to believe, but the last time attention was paid to how the size of people affects the size of the passenger cabin was when John, Paul, Ringo and George were an opening act in the '60s.

"Because of increased obesity, more of today's motorists are grappling with tighter fits around steering wheels, armrests and seats," said Gary Rupp, a Ford ergonomics research engineer. Suit coats can be let out with needle and thread; doors can't.

AMA statistics showed that in 1962 the 95th percentile woman weighed 199 pounds and had an average hip width of 17.1 inches; her male counterpart weighed 217 pounds and had an average hip width of 15.9 inches.

The 95th percentile means that 95 percent of all people are that size and weight or smaller. The auto industry has long used the 95th percentile as a benchmark.

Not satisfied with 40-year-old numbers, Ford went out in 2000 with a tape measure and scale and sized up 5,000 people. It found that women and men have put on about 27 pounds since the '60s. Women's hips grew 2.6 inches, men's 1.3 inches.

Some folks may have buns of steel, but about 30 percent have buns--and bellies--in plus sizes.

Ford has come up with a set of virtual reality mannequins to help its designers create cabins to fit occupants whether petite or XXL."   continued ...   (Via Chicago Tribune)

Blind Reader

New device could open up new jobs for blind workers ...

"The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) unveiled Monday a groundbreaking new device, the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader.

The portable Reader, developed by the National Federation of the Blind and renowned inventor Ray Kurzweil, enables users to take pictures of and read most printed materials at the click of a button. Users merely hold "the camera that talks" over print -- a letter, bills, a restaurant menu, an airline ticket, a business card, or an office memo --- to hear the contents of the printed document played back in clear synthetic speech.

Combining a state-of-the-art digital camera with a powerful personal data assistant, the Reader puts the best available character-recognition software together with text-to-speech conversion technology in a single handheld device."   continued ...   (Via Positive Technology Journal)

Portable Blind Reader

Often overlooked, hands deserve healthy attention

Don't overlook hands when considering workplace ergonomics ...

"Health care providers want you to take care of your hands as you would any other part of your body.

They’re right in front of you. They express your feelings, they feed you, they shape your career. Your hands are so much a part of life that you may seldom think about them.

... Himanshu “Sam” Samantaray, a certified hand therapist at Excel Therapy Specialists of Muskogee, said taking care of your hands is often a matter of asking yourself some basic questions. “How often do you use moisturizer, and how often do you use gloves to work in the flower bed?” he said. Other than obvious injuries, there are other warning signals that your hands need extra care. “Pain is first sign,” Samantaray said. “Then there is swelling, tingling or numbness, and any loss of function including weakness.” People who want to reduce stress on their hands can consider ergonomic products that make daily tasks easier. Samantaray gave a few examples, such as foam adapters that make brushes and other handles easier to grasp, electric instead of manual can openers, and garden tools with special right-angle handles. When treating patients’ hand problems, Samantaray uses a variety of “modalities.” These include job-related exercises, hot and cold packs, ultrasound, a transcutaneous electric nerve stimulator, and paraffin packs."   continued ...   (Via CNHI)

Mapping Support for an EHS Management System

Creating a safety and health plan ...

"Management support for safety and health is difficult to measure, and there is no magic way to obtain it. To ensure management support, create a roadmap for success.

The benefits of an EHS management system must be explained to management if you want proper funding and support. But first, a roadmap for success must be made. You cannot ask for management support in driving a major initiative without knowing what the goals and objectives are and how to measure success. The roadmap of success also should contain cost and program milestones. Program successes will build momentum and help drive the rest of the program.

Do not think short-term, as a culture change will be occurring. Depending on your baseline of management support, a safety and health management system might take as long as 3 years. Frequent updates to both management and employees are necessary to help exploit successes and gain momentum to take the program to the next level."   continued ...   (Via Occupational Hazards)

Simple math: Healthy employees equal healthy companies

Preventing injury before there is a problem ...

"A shift is taking place in today's business world towards a better work-life balance as many companies come to realize that healthy employees make for a healthy bottom line.

"Companies and corporations are more in tune now with health and wellness and to have a more productive employee they should typically be healthy, fit and eat properly," says Bruce Walker, vice-president of sales for the Ottawa Athletic Club. "With a more balanced person, they can work harder and lose less time at work due to illness or injury."

"For example, more than 100 of Giant Tiger's employees are members here because the company sees the value of team building and they subsidize a portion of the memberships as a perk," says Mr. Walker. "We also have recently signed up 20 employees from Grandor Lumber and we also work with IBM, the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance and the Canada Revenue Agency, who has an office close by."

He says many people are surprised to learn that a recent study showed more than 63 per cent of the adults in Ontario are not active enough to achieve optimal health benefits. Mr. Walker says statistics like these are helping companies recognize the value an investment in employee health and fitness makes because not only is it the right thing to do, but it's becoming necessary thanks to today's couch-potato tendencies."   continued ...   (Via Ottawa Business Journal)