Microsoft Habu Laser Gaming Mouse: MS Steps It Up A Notch

A new ergonomic mouse for gaming and everyday applications ...

"Microsoft takes it up a notch and then some with their yet to be released Habu Laser Gaming Mouse. The lads at MS have teamed up with the boys from Razer to create this new gaming mouse. Featuring up to 2000 DPI sensitivity, high-speed motion detection and comfortable ergonomic design, even a Mac user like myself would have to concede that Microsoft make really great computer mice. They've even slapped on some Teflon on the bottom of this thing for an ultra smooth glide. The only thing left to do is convince the boss that with all these great new features, you'll be able to open up word documents faster and create more accurate spreadsheets!"    (Continued via Mr.Gadget Australia)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Habu Gaming Mouse

The Aging Workforce - Ergonomic Accommodations Benefit Experienced Employees

Getting ready for an aging workforce ...

"According to Caryn Leschen, Thirty-five is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart”. With foresight, planning, and a willingness to make accommodations for the physical changes that occur with advancing years, businesses can benefit from the wisdom and experience of their aging employees, maintain a consistently productive workforce, avoid costs of employee turnover, and remain competitive in their markets.

The current trend of a decline in the younger workforce and an increase in employees over the age of 40 is predicted to become even more significant in the near future (an older American worker is often defined as being over the age of 40-45). By 2010, more than 25% of the working population will reach retirement age resulting in a potential worker shortage of nearly 10 million (Bureau of Labor Statistics). By 2020, the number of people aged 55 and older is predicted to increase to 73% while the number of younger workers will grow by only 5% (U.S. Census Bureau). This labor shortage will significantly impact our economy. The oil, gas, energy, and healthcare industries are already expressing concerns about a loss of skilled workers; the National Science Foundation is also reporting a decline in those interested in entering the fields of science, mathematics and engineering. The Conference Board reports worries of a “brain drain” in the technology and pharmaceutical industries.

Fortunately for many corporations, a majority of the elderly are delaying retirement for personal, financial, medical and social reasons. According to the AARP, 69% of baby boomers plan to continue working past the age of 65. A study conducted by The Conference Board reports that 75% of respondents are choosing not to retire because of financial concerns. Some are delaying retirement due to changes in Social Security benefits; others may not have planned well for retirement or been affected by stock market fluctuations. 60% of respondents cited medical concerns as a reason for delaying retirement. As life expectancy improves (from 47 years in 1900 to the current 77 years) and health care costs continue to increase, working to retain medical benefits becomes more likely. And 54% cited personal fulfillment as a reason to stay active in the workforce. The desire to feel useful and valued, to perform activities that are of interest, and to maintain social contacts contributes to the decision to stay in a profession either full-time, part-time, or in an advisory capacity."    (Continued via Bella Online)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Say 'yes' to the mess

Cognitive ergonomics suggest a messy desk more productive ...

"It is a truism of American life that we're too darn messy, or we think we are, and we feel really badly about it. Our desks and dining room tables are awash with paper; our closets are bursting with clothes and sports equipment and old files; our laundry areas boil; our basements and garages seethe. And so do our partners — or our parents, if we happen to be teenagers.

This is why sales of home-organizing products, like accordion files and labelmakers and plastic tubs, keep going up and up, from $5.9 billion last year to a projected $7.6 billion by 2009, as do the revenues of companies that make closet organizing systems, an industry that is pulling in $3 billion a year, according to Closets magazine.

... The most valuable dividend of living with mess may be time. Freedman, who has three children and a hard-working spouse, Laurie Tobey-Freedman, a preschool special-needs coordinator, is studying Mandarin in his precious spare moments. Perusing a four-door stainless steel shoe cabinet ($149) at the Container Store, and imagining gussying up a shoe collection, he shook his head and said, "I don't get the appeal of this, which may be a huge defect on my part in terms of higher forms of entertainment."

In the semiotics of mess, desks may be the richest texts. Messy-desk research borrows from cognitive ergonomics, a field of study dealing with how a work environment supports productivity. Consider that desks, our work landscapes, are stand-ins for our brains, and so the piles we array on them are "cognitive artifacts," or data cues, of our thoughts as we work.

To a professional organizer brandishing colored files and stackable trays, cluttered horizontal surfaces are a horror; to cognitive psychologists like Jay Brand, who works in the Ideation Group of Haworth Inc., the huge office furniture company, their peaks and valleys glow with intellectual intent and showcase a mind whirring away: sorting, linking, producing. (By extension, a clean desk can be seen as a dormant area, an indication that no thought or work is being undertaken.)"    (Continued via Rutland Herald)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Speech-friendly Google Maps

Google Maps now accessible to blind users ...

"Google used their blog on Boxing Day to announce a new speech-friendly interface for Google Maps.

The new interface does away with graphical maps and concentrates entirely on giving directions and directions which can be cleanly read out by a screen reader or presented in a Braille browser. The UI (user interface) works for Google Maps US and European versions of the site such as Google Maps UK. Google often rolls out enhancements only to the US version of their service first.

The speech-friendly interface is not the only foray into accessibility that Google has made. The search engine launched its accessible search option in the middle of July this year which re-orders results to favour sites which are more accessible than others.

The new version of Google Maps presents the speech-friendly directions in a similar table to the original Google Maps but uses the entire screen. This technique is similar to Google’s approach for Accessible Search where the search results appear to look the same to a normal organic search. The search engine has deliberately kept the visual output the same even though accessibility improvements have been made in the code. Google’s clean look and feel has become very much part of its brand. There are also Usability benefits in keeping a uniform feel to navigation throughout the site."    (Continued via Big Mouth Media)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Google Speech Maps

Video games are a pain in the neck -- and hands and wrists

Kids showing same injury problems as adults with video games ...

"Time becomes inconsequential the minute Ryan Marcelo turns on his computer. After logging on to one of his favourite game sites -- RuneScape, Ragnarok and MapleStory are his top three picks -- he starts clicking away, his eyes fixed on the animated characters on the screen.

"I play every day, sometimes for more than four hours straight," Ryan, a 14-year-old resident of Pickering, just outside Toronto, said. "When I'm finished playing, sometimes my eyes are heavy, sometimes I just feel really tired."

A familiar story? In households with children and computers, there's a good chance of meeting tech-savvy youngsters like Ryan, who, by their own admission, spend way too much time in front of their computers. And, like Ryan, these children are starting to feel aches and pains as a result of frequent and prolonged computer use.

Now that desktop PCs, laptops, cellphones and e-mail devices such as the BlackBerry have become as commonplace as ashtrays once were in offices and homes, more and more children are experiencing the same types of computer-related discomfort that adults have complained about in the past decade, Margo Fraser, executive director of the Calgary-based Association of Canadian Ergonomists, said.

"What we're seeing is children reporting levels of computer-related discomfort close to what adults are reporting," said Ms. Fraser, who also owns an ergonomics consulting business. "They're reporting that their eyes are bothering them, and that they're feeling pain or discomfort in their necks, backs and in their hands, arms and wrists."

Findings from the Young Canadians in a Wired World research project reveal how computing has become an everyday part of life for Canadian youngsters. Close to 40 per cent of children 4 to 11 have their own Internet-linked computer, and more than 20 per cent have a cellphone, on which they thumb instant messages to friends. And if Canadian children are anything like their American counterparts, they probably account for more than 30 per cent of video gamers in this country.

But does the growing use of technology among children translate into widespread incidences of computer-related health problems? Research in this area has been scarce, but the few studies that do exist suggest that such injuries are prevalent among children and teens. A study of 10- to 17-year-old Australians attending schools with mandatory laptop programs showed that about 60 per cent said they suffered discomfort, mostly in the neck and shoulder areas."    (Continued via globeandmail)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Brain mouse

Something for your favorite ergonomist ...

"If you are still looking for a xmas gift, what about this Brain mouse ..."    (Continued via Positive Technology Journal)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Brain Mouse

The Ergonomic Santa

Have a Very Merry Christmas Everyone ...

Ergonomic Santa

(Continued via Sarasota PC Monitor)   [Usability Resources]

Designing websites for older users

Recommendations for making the Web more accessible for seniors ...

"According to the 2001 UK census, the UK now has more people aged over 60 than under 16. It also revealed that there are now 1.1 million people aged over 85. Webcredible recently analysed and compared the results of 16 usability testing sessions - 8 of these sessions were conducted with elderly users (i.e. over the age of 65), and 8 with younger users (i.e. under the age of 40).

The 40-minute 'talk-aloud' sessions involved asking participants to find information on a range of government websites.

Assigning blame
The main finding of our study was that elderly users were more likely to assign blame when using the Internet.

Of the 8 elderly participants, 3 appeared to blame themselves for any difficulties which they encountered (sample quotes: "I don't really know what I'm doing"; "It's probably my fault"; "This always happens to me"). 4 of the elderly users, however, seemed to blame the site(s) for any difficulties which they encountered (sample quotes: "I hate it when websites do this"; "Well, that's stupid"; "That doesn't make any sense"). We found that the younger group of users were far less likely to assign explicit blame for any difficulties encountered - with only 1 user from this group assigning blame (to themselves).

Emotional reaction
We also found that elderly users used far more emotive words and phrases when referring to websites than younger users. All of the elderly users employed strongly positive or negative words in their remarks, such as "love", "hate", "stupid", "helpful" and "friendly". Indeed, one participant even talked to the website as if it were a pet ("That's a good boy")!

In contrast, only 2 of the younger participants expressed themselves in comparably strong terms (both when talking negatively about aspects of a site)."    (Continued via Programmers Heaven)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Ergonomic Nightmare of the Week: High Heels

Need we say more ...

"All women, (and many men) have worn high heels at one time or another. Some women (like myself) avoid them at all costs. Some are forced to wear them to work; others, wear them every chance they get, the higher the better.

But high heels are definitely one of those things that choose form over function. High heels are in fact, an absolute ergonomic nightmare.

The question is, why do we continue to torture ourselves? I would be perfectly happy if high heels were banned from this earth. High heels really do not serve any practical function, and they only look good because we have established a standard of fashion and beauty that says that they do. What if we decided that a woman’s foot perched unnaturally atop a teetering platform on a stick did not look good? We no longer think that foot binding is a good idea, so there is no reason why we couldn’t change our minds about high heels.

Unfortunately, I don’t think high heels are going away any time soon."    (Continued via Ergonomenon)    [Ergonomics Resources]

High Heels

Why Nursing is a Dangerous Job and How Robots Can Help

Robots helping to avoid injury ...

"According to a Forbes.com article, nursing aides have one the most dangerous jobs in America (most likely to get an injury or illness at work). Many nurses injur their backs while lifting and moving patients. Unfortunately, nurses do not have many options to move patients around more ergonomically.

The two occupations with the greatest number of such injuries and illnesses were truck drivers and nursing aides (including orderlies and attendants).

Sprains and strains were the leading nature of injury or illness in every major industry division in 2002, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 79,000 injured nursing aides suffered sprains and strains to their trunks (typically their backs), due to overexertion related to lifting or moving patients.

Perhaps that is why in selecting their inventions of the year for 2006, Time Magazine saw such promise in the Ri-Man."    (Continued via Ergonomenon)    [Ergonomics Resources]

NurseBot

Off the Job Safety Use Your Head During the Holidays

Look out for holiday injuries ...

"During the winter holidays, people tend to be absorbed in celebration and may not be as careful as usual. That's why the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is reminding people that many injuries can be prevented by removing potential hazards inside and outside the home, following proper driving precautions and playing sports safely.
In 2005, an estimated 1 million people were treated at U.S. hospital emergency rooms for head injuries related to common products found around the home, while an additional 15,000 were treated for head injuries related to motor vehicles. Winter sports contributed to nearly 26,000 estimated head injuries. Statistics such as these show how holiday fun can too quickly turn into a life-shattering tragedy that could have been prevented by simply taking proper safety precautions.

The 2005 head injury statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission include the following winter-related products, which contributed to thousands of head injuries treated in emergency rooms:

Home Products

• Toys (all categories): 13,663
• Fireplaces (all types combined): 4,251
• Heaters (all types combined): 1,542
• Manual snow removal tools: 561
• Outerwear: 441
• Christmas decorations (non-electric): 345
• Christmas tree lights: 295
• Snow throwers/blowers: 83
• Artificial Christmas trees: 75"    (Continued via Occupational Hazards)    [Usability Resources]

Sat-nav for blind 'not a gimmick'

GPS to assist blind with location directions ...

"Blind residents of Turin have been equipped with GPS trackers so that they can be directed around the northern Italian city by satellite.

When wearing the device, a blind user can be tracked by call-centre workers on a map of the city. If he needs help, he can press a special button on a mobile phone to ring in and be guided towards his destination.

Another button can alert staff in case of an attack, or another emergency.

... Mercedes Bresso, who came up with the idea and who is also the head of the regional government, said the initiative was not "a gimmick," but "the start of a wider project to use new technologies to help people."    (Continued via Telegraph)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Ford Motor Co Rolls Out a New Safety Model

Improved incident investigation at Ford ...

"When the Chicago Assembly Plant opened its doors in 1924, Model T's were rolling off the assembly line. The plant produced 4,211 Model T's with a base price of $490. Soon, the Model T's were joined by Model A's, Model B's and, over the years, such iconic models as Ford Fairlanes, Galaxies and Thunderbirds.

Currently, 2,360 employees manufacture three models of vehicles at the facility: the Ford Five Hundred, Mercury Montigo and Ford Freestyle. Local 551 of the United Auto Workers (UAW) represents the majority of the employees at the facility.

Chicago Assembly is the oldest production facility within the Ford Motor Co. Since 1924, the facility has incurred 13 major expansions, arriving at its current size of 2.8 million square feet.

Times have changed, cars have changed and the safety culture has changed.

... As part of the plan to reduce injuries, the safety department undertook a review of incident investigations for a work zone in the Trim Department. A systematic approach was formalized to review past incident and injury data. During the review, it was determined that injury data was skewed due to incomplete information entered into the investigation database.

Safety professionals at the facility attempted to fully utilize the investigation database to identify workplace injuries and illnesses by identifying workstations and job tasks with a high frequency of incidents. Current data regarding job process codes - alphanumeric codes that are assigned to each workstation on the assembly line - within the investigation database was reviewed for any type of injury trends, including first aid injury data."    (Continued via Occupational Hazards)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Ergonomics exported to India

One persons experience in setting-up an ergonomics business in India ...

"A year ago Sue Patenaude would have laughed if anyone told her she would be doing business in India.

... Before she went, Patenaude still wondered how she would be able to consult on ergonomics with Indian companies from the United States.

"I imagined that I might need to come up with a whole new model," Patenaude said.

But once she arrived in India and met with interested Indian companies in Mumbai, she realized her training tools and Web-based model would work well for an overseas partnership.

Patenaude is now talking with five of the business owners she met in Mumbai about working together to make the Indian work places more ergonomic. A challenge in India to preventing work place injuries is that the country does not have a system of worker's compensation. Medical costs also vary drastically from region to region, and many residents have no medical insurance at all.

"Productivity is the focus," Patenaude said, rather than medical benefits. "It's not about lower medical costs. It's about lowering absenteeism and employee turnover. It's about quality of work."    (Continued via The Pinnacle)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Your Buddy In The Sky: New System To Improve Interaction Between Autopilots And Pilots

Improving the ergonomics of autopilot-pilot interactions ...

"A prototype flight computer has been designed and evaluated which will improve the interaction between an aircraft's autopilot and pilot.

Although autopilots and pilots individually seldom make mistakes, on rare occasions errors are made due to inefficient collaboration between the two. Usually this results in nothing more than a moment of confusion. Occasionally (albeit rarely) it leads to an accident.

Professor Peter Johnson and Rachid Hourizi at the University of Bath have used funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to test their theory that these misunderstandings are due to the restricted interaction and low-level communication style of the autopilot rather than human error on the part of the pilot.

In the current generation of computerised cockpits, the autopilot tells the pilot what the immediate action being undertaken is (e.g. 'the plane is flying at 10,000 feet'). The more explicit details (i.e. what action is going to be taken next and the objective of a particular manoeuvre) are calculated by the pilot.

This new system's software interface gives the autopilot more of the calculation work to do. This makes the interaction between the autopilot and pilot more explicit. This in turn reduces the chance of mistakes being made. It also frees up more time for the pilot to monitor situations. The pilot continues to look after the high level decisions such as ensuring the plane is on course.

"The interface is based on the communication procedures used in a number of safety critical domains from fire fighting to military operations where the current situation, action to be taken and objectives are explicitly stated," said Rachid Hourizi. "Our new system brings the interaction between the autopilot and pilot onto a more robust level."    (Continued via ScienceDaily)    [Usability Resources]

Safety Issues on the Table

Will new congress improve ergonomics and safety regulations? ...

"In a "roundtable" discussion, Occupational Hazards asked stakeholders to predict which safety and health issues will be on the table in 2007.

With a new year almost upon us, Occupational Hazards convened a "roundtable" of safety and health stakeholders to get a sense of what might be in store for the EHS community in 2007. Although the roundtable discussion consisted of one-on-one interviews, several common themes emerged, including: the aging work force; the business of safety; globalization; health insurance costs; immigrant worker safety; nanotechnology; off-the-job safety; and pandemic flu preparedness.

Casting a shadow on all of those topics was the question of just how the EHS community will be impacted by the new political complexion of Congress.

Stakeholders offered frank opinions on what probably will happen and what they hope will happen as a result of the Nov. 7 elections, which gave the Democrats majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives. When the new Congress takes office in January, Democrats will take control of the two committees that have oversight of workplace safety and health: Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts will chair the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), while Rep. George Miller of California, at press time, was the presumptive chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

National Safety Council (NSC) President and CEO Alan McMillan does not believe that the change in the balance of power will have an immediate impact on workers and EHS professionals. Rather, he expects it to have "a time-delayed affect on the workplace at large."

"I do believe there's going to be a heightened level of oversight, and I think we'll see that early on," McMillan said. "I think we'll see it in both the House and the Senate."    (Continued via Occupational Hazards)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Selecting Equipment to Fit Your Ergonomic Needs

The risks of musculoskeletal disorders in dentistry ...

"It has been well documented that dental professionals are at high risk for musculoskeletal disorders. Over 65 percent of dentists have experienced neck, shoulder or low back musculoskeletal disorders.1 Ergonomic risk factors such as repetitive motion, excessive force, awkward and static posture, and exposure to vibration can lead to these disorders.2-4 Some risk factors can be minimized but not totally eliminated, such as repetitive motions with sustained pinch forces.

Clinicians can implement various strategies through a well-designed ergonomic plan to reduce musculoskeletal disorders. Many, such as body mechanics, can be implemented with minimal cost. This includes positioning, stretching, and varying tasks. Dental equipment design may also impact musculoskeletal health. Manufacturers are constantly adapting equipment to help clinicians control or eliminate risk factors. There are no industry standards for ergonomic equipment for dentistry. Clinicians should select equipment that fits their needs, not equipment they must adapt to. This article focuses on equipment that meets individual needs.

Dental Chairs and Delivery Systems

One of the most prevalent musculoskeletal risk factors is awkward posture. Several things can help promote better posture. Clinicians should evaluate their chair, patient chair, and delivery system, since these three pieces must fit the clinician’s physical stature to promote proper posture. Both the height and backrest design of the patient chair should be considered to maintain a neutral position during delivery of care. The patient chair should be lowered and the back rest reclined for the clinician to move freely without thighs or knees being obstructed, and a small, thin headrest and narrow upper backrest will help maintain neutral posture and close proximity to the patient.5 The clinician should not have to lean forward to see into the oral cavity."    (Continued via Woman Dentist Journal)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Airport screeners' injury rate declines but still exceeds rates of other workers

Injury rate of airport screeners falling but still high ...

"The Transportation Security Administration dramatically cut the injury rate for airport screeners in the past year, though it remains among the highest in the nation.
On-the-job injuries, which have forced screeners to miss hundreds of thousands of workdays, fell to 16 per 100 employees in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, TSA data show. That's down from 29% in 2005 and 36% in 2004 in a trend some screeners attribute to a crackdown on injured workers.

"There's been a phenomenal focus placed on safety," said Earl Morris, TSA general manager for field operations. "The benefits are enormous" because fewer injuries mean more screeners at checkpoints and faster security lines.

The screener injury rate still far exceeds the rest of the federal government and the private sector. Screeners among a workforce of 47,000 are injured more often than workers in all but five of the roughly 600 jobs tracked by the Labor Department.

Morris said screeners have to lift heavy bags, often in awkward positions that cause strains. Injuries add to absenteeism that has forced the TSA to shut security lanes and violate a law requiring checked luggage to go through bomb detectors, according to congressional investigators.

The TSA has installed rollers and bag hoisters to relieve screeners from lifting, brought screeners back to work on light duty and attacked fraud with an inspections office that has prosecuted employees who allegedly falsified injury claims. "That sends a message that it's not something we're going to tolerate," Morris said. He provided no figures on alleged fraud.

The injuries cost taxpayers $58 million in fiscal 2006 to cover wages and medical benefits for injured screeners, the TSA said."    (Continued via USA Today)    [Usability Resources]

Ergonomic Nightmare of the Week: Cell Phones While Driving

Trying to do two cognitive things at once ...

"Do you ever talk on your cell phone while driving? Come on, admit it, I know you’re guilty. I can admit it, I am guilty myself. Sometimes it is just hard to resist, but I know my driving skills are not 100% while on the phone. I think some people can’t even admit that.

A study conducted by the University of Utah compared the effects of driving while talking on a cell phones as well as the effects of driving while intoxicated. They found (not a surprise to me) that drivers on cell phones were 5.36 times more likely to have an accident than undistracted drivers. The study also found:

"Motorists who talked on either handheld or hands-free cell phones drove slightly slower, were 9 percent slower to hit the brakes, displayed 24 percent more variation in following distance as their attention switched between driving and conversing, were 19 percent slower to resume normal speed after braking and were more likely to crash. Three study participants rear-ended the pace car. All were talking on cell phones. None were drunk."    (Continued via The Ergonomenon)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Cellphone Driving

Workers' safety merits spot on front burner

The state of politics in reducing ergonomic injuries ...

"This coming week, our new congressman is going to address some fellow members of the educated elite at a gathering sponsored by the Ivy Forum, which is supported by Louisville-area graduates of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, M.I.T., Penn, Princeton and Yale.

John Yarmuth is supposed to talk about "expectations for the Democratic majority in Congress." He almost certainly will talk about the war in Iraq and the minimum wage -- issues that figured in the just-concluded election.

I suggest he also talk about workplace safety.

... Back in 2001, Time magazine summed up the triumph of those who opposed tough ergonomics rules: "Clinton-sponsored regulations designed to reduce repetitive stress injuries take a big hit." The magazine reported that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao had assured safety advocates "that new, 'comprehensive' ergonomics guidelines will, in fact, be introduced and implemented quickly."

But earlier this year, when the AFL-CIO Safety and Health Office issued its annual profile of worker safety and health, its criticism of the Bush record, and of the agencies overseen by Chao, was caustic:

"Rule making at (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and (the Mine Safety and Health Administration) has virtually ground to a halt. During its first term, the administration moved to withdraw dozens of safety and health rules from the regulatory agenda, ceasing all action on the development of these important safety and health measures…. At MSHA, 17 safety and health rules were withdrawn, including rules on mine rescue teams and self-contained self-rescuers."    (Continued via Courier Journal)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Workplace Ergonomics Injury

Creating Safe Workplaces

An applied example of corporate safety programs ...

"Alcoa and Omron STI combined talents and resources to provide unique, high-quality EHS services as well as comprehensive machine guarding solutions for clients and prospects.

Most companies in the United States are extremely sensitive about maintaining the safest possible working environment in their plants or mills, and managers are serious about enforcing rules and policies that protect the health and safety of all employees.

In fact, comments made by spokespersons of companies such as Alcoa, Tyco and United Technologies indicate that safety comes before productivity and quality. They believe that without a safe workplace, production, quality and financial performance goals are not likely met or sustained.

"Alcoa wants its employees and contractors to be able to work safely in a manner that protects and promotes the health and well-being of the individual and the environment," says Jeff Shockey, Alcoa's director of safety and regional services. "While every Alcoa manager and employee must be fiscally responsible to the shareholders of the company, we value human life above all else and try to manage our risks accordingly."

When a company protects its employees, treats them fairly and obeys the law, then other benefits will follow, including improved morale, trust and respect; better company image; and workers' compensation reductions.

It is a proven fact that plants that have good safety performance generally run better from the quality, labor relations and overall business perspective. For example, widely quoted results of a poll conducted by the Liberty Mutual Group indicate that 61 percent of the executives estimate that their companies saved $3 for every $1 spent on workplace protection.

An EHS manager typically is responsible for compliance with standards that cover air, water, waste, land, chemical programs management and employee health and safety.

According to Shockey, the following are the four main activities undertaken in support of Alcoa's safety system:

• Assessing the risks, aspects and impacts associated with our products, services and operations.
• Developing and implementing operational controls with built-in layers of protection.
• Monitoring and maintaining the risk assessment, controls and implementation to ensure they are current and effective.
• Reacting to correct gaps in our protective systems and continuously improve system stability."    (Continued via Occupational Hazards)    [Ergonomics Resources]

The Human Dynamics of Injury Prevention Part 2

Getting people to accept safety programs ...

"Whether employees are in a group or working alone, the acting and coaching components of people-based safety can have a positive impact on the safety culture.

In my article last month, I discussed the human dynamics of injury prevention by revising the research-based principles of people-based safety (PBS), and contrasted this approach with behavior-based safety (BBS) - a popular and effective way to prevent workplace injuries.1

The PBS process is not a substitute for BBS, but rather an evolution for greater acceptance and effectiveness. The components of PBS discussed in this second of a three-part series reflect the essence of BBS.

The four skill components of PBS are acting, coaching, thinking and seeing - ACTS.2 In a total safety culture, people act for injury prevention; coach one another to identify barriers to safe acts and provide constructive behavior-based feedback; think in ways that activate and support safe behavior; and focus and scan to see the hazards.

The Acting of People-Based Safety

It's fitting that the components of PBS spell "acts," because safety depends upon the actions of people. Various principles and procedures of PBS target attitudes, perceptions and thoughts. But if improvement in these areas does not result in relevant behavior change, there is no benefit to occupational safety.

Because behavior change is the bottom line, BBS has prevented workplace injuries in many organizations through the successful implementation of an interpersonal observation and feedback process. But what about the many times people work or drive alone?

The PBS approach adds to BBS by teaching ways to implement self-coaching and increase self-accountability for safety. In this regard, it's critical to understand the three forms of voluntary behavior - other-directed, self-directed and habitual.3

A BBS observation-and-feedback process initiates and sustains other-directed behavior. Workers increase safe behavior and decrease at-risk behavior because others - their peers - hold them accountable. With continued application of this coaching process, proponents of BBS hope safe behavior transitions from other-directed to habitual. This objective reveals some critical distinctions between PBS and BBS."    (Continued via Occupational Hazards)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Leadership: A Blueprint for Leaders

How to design intervention strategies for safety improvement ...

"In my August 2006 column, I presented the case for leading with safety. I argued that leaders today have an unprecedented opportunity to enhance organizational functioning by creating safety excellence.

Some would argue (rightly) that safety happens at the floor level of the organization; it is ultimately about the worker interacting with the technology. What, then, connects organizational leaders to safety mechanisms and controls such that they can assure safety improvement?

There are a multitude of factors that go into making a successful safety leader. In our experience, however, these leaders all begin with an understanding of a set of core concepts that define organizational safety functioning as a whole.

A Multi-Dimensional Model

Conventional safety thinking has focused largely on what we call safety enabling systems; mechanisms that directly seek to reduce or remove exposure to hazards in the workplace. They include hazard recognition and mitigation, training, regulation, procedures, policies and the like. Some systems are arguably more effective than others, and many (such as the hierarchy of controls) are agreed to be essential.

This focus, which tends to exclude attention to broader organizational elements, produces a rather flat picture of safety functioning. Supply the right systems, the thinking goes, and results will follow. Studies and experience, however, have shown this vision to be flawed. Different sites with practically identical enabling systems are known to report very different incident frequency rates, even when weighted for technology and work forces.

Effective leaders seem to be distinguished by their ability to take a "big picture" view of how safety performance occurs. They see enabling systems not as the sole determinant of safety outcomes, but as an important piece of a larger picture. This model encompasses five key elements, and provides leaders with a roadmap for applying their influence to assure safety improvement."    (Continued via Occupational Hazards)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Repetitive Strain Injury

RSI advice from an injured computer user ...

... "Now I'm sure we've all skim-read the horrendous-sounding warnings on the incorrect use of keyboards and mice. My MS keyboard has almost the whole of its back taken up with an essay on the subject of ergonomics with nasty bits in bold. However I tend to pay as much attention to these as I do to the average manual. Which is not a lot.

... However, in my mind, RSI was a disorder that one would get over a period of many years of poor working practices, rather than a short burst of doing something silly.

Well, up until this point, I have had no problems, and rarely was in any discomfort while using a PC and therefore, I didn't think twice about using a "desk" about 12 inches too low (an Ikea hifi cabinet), nor about sitting on the world's least practical office chair: the edge of my bed. After all it was just going to be for a few days.

... Experts who I have seen have all generally agreed on the following:

• Bodies aren't really designed to use computers.
• RSI is not understood very well. It's a loose term used to describe many different problems that tend to go together, and are caused by similar things.
• There's not a whole amount anybody can do about it when you get it.
• You need to rest. Really.
• Bad physiotherapy will make it worse.
• If you're young, and don't have a history of musculo-skeletal problems, you stand a better chance of getting better.
• Here's the bill, see you again next week for some more repackaged common sense."    (Continued via Inquirer)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Microsoft Keyboard Ergonomics Warning

Sitting Upright is too Stressful for the Human Spine? Yes, but the Problem is Solved Already!

More discussion about the problems of sitting up straight ...

"The research project that was presented at the RSNA Meeting in Chicago (U.S.) last week by Dr. W. A. Bashir et al. got enormous press coverage and spread like wildfire over the worldwide web. The study confirmed with the help of a MRI technique that sitting in a slouched forward position or just upright in a 90degrees position was very unfavourable for the position of the nucleus and the intervertebral disk height.

SANTPOORT, The Netherlands, December 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The research project that was presented at the RSNA Meeting in Chicago (U.S.) last week by Dr. W. A. Bashir et al. got enormous press coverage and spread like wildfire over the worldwide web. The study confirmed with the help of a MRI technique that sitting in a slouched forward position or just upright in a 90degrees position was very unfavourable for the position of the nucleus and the intervertebral disk height.

By comparing a supine position with the position of a Formula 1 race car driver in his seat and then show how favourable this position is for the lumbar spine you can really make your point. Of course, leaning back in your chair with full support of backbones and shoulders is more relaxing then any more erect sitting posture.

The problem is that most people can not lean back; they just have to do their job at their desk, working table or machines while sitting upright or even bending forward a bit. So working conditions often dictate postural adaptations.

Recommendations on maximal extents of movement are found in the ISO 11226 standard, the evaluation of static working postures, and many consequences of that standard have been described in books and articles on ergonomics. So far there was nothing new in the presentation.

The great value of this research is that according to co-presenter Dr. F. Smith, the study confirms a hypothesis, dating back to 1953, that there is a relationship between lordosis and the trunk-thigh angle. The hips should be above the knees! This means that a well balanced body should be seated with sloping down thighs. That is impossible on a chair with a horizontal seat, or one with a backward or forward tilted inclination as this inclination is scientifically limited to 6-8degrees."    (Continued via PR Newswire)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Sitting Posture

Ergonomic Marketing: What Is It and How Is It Applied?

Using ergonomic design to sell products ...

"I have often wondered why most people continue to use the same old keyboards, mice, and office chairs (and other products) despite the availability of ergonomically designed products that could possibly prevent injury and alleviate pain.

At first I thought it was because of the higher price tag of many ergonomic products, a lack of awareness that they exist, or a disbelief that they are really better.

After reading a Usernomics article on Ergonomic Marketing, I realized the most obvious thing I had failed to think about: Marketability. You can’t just design an ergonomic keyboard that will eliminate pain and injury and expect everyone to run out and buy one. Ergonomic products have to be designed with marketability in mind as well.

Car makers don’t just try to design the safest car ever with no regard for aesthetics and how people will interact with the car pyscologically and emotionally. Shouldn’t the design of ergonomic products consider these factors too?

Excerpt from Usernomics article:

Neither ergonomics alone, nor engineering alone, will ensure a products’ success. Attention must also be given to design characteristics that influence marketability.

Designing with Ergonomic Marketing as an objective is quite compatible with designing for usability. Making a product easy-to-use and aesthetically appealing are part of the Ergonomic Marketing component. Achieving market acceptance and subsequent sales is a matter of attending to a few additional variables in the User Interface Design process."    (Continued via Ergonomenon)    [Ergonomics Resources]

"Move It" for computer crazy kids

New program to get kids away from computer screen - includes video ...

"Prolonged computer sessions coupled with poor posture is proving a bad mix for over a quarter of today's computer bound children.

"Aches and pains, and muscularskelotal problems in school children is fairly prevalent," says ergonomics expert Professor Stephen Legg.

So a stay-at-home mum is trying to solve the problem.

"Kids are spending 15 years or more on computers before they get into the workforce and that's a long time for them to start forming bad habits," says concerned mother Brenda Buchanan.

So she has developed a computer program that teaches kids better habits in the hope that it will decrease their chances of getting work related injuries later in life.

The program is called "Move It" and it emphasises the importance of changing position regularly and getting the right support."    (Continued via tvnz)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Move It

Mercedes wants to wake up sleepy drivers

Keeping drivers awake to avoid accidents ...

"According to various scientific studies, between 10 and 20 per cent of serious traffic accidents can be attributed to drowsiness and fatigue. In the U.S. alone, over 100,000 accidents are caused by driver fatigue every year, in which 1,500 people are killed and a further 71,000 injured. So Mercedes-Benz is developing a warning system for sleepy drivers. An interdisciplinary team of engineers, computer scientists and psychologists at Mercedes-Benz is developing a system to save many lives and which should be ready in a few years.

Before looking at the Mercedes project, I want to tell you why I was reluctant to write about it before. There are literally dozens of car-related websites and blogs talking about this initiative, and the ones who dare to mention a source say it's a press release from the DaimlerChrysler group.

But there is no press release about this project, neither on the DaimlerChrysler website or on the Mercedes-Benz one. Moreover, I've searched specifically for press releases via specialized search engines and I haven't found anything. Does this mean the information is fake or that someone had a privileged access to some valid information? As I think that it would be difficult to mislead so many specialized sites, I've concluded that the information was valid even if I didn't have access to the source.

So let's start with why a tired driver is dangerous for himself and others. Simply, he has reactions similar to a drunken driver.

The phenomenon that threatens to occur in this type of situation is referred to by experts as "microsleep": a spontaneous reaction of the human organism to over-fatigue. The eyes sting, the lids blink more frequently but more slowly too, the pupils become smaller, the driver yawns and shivers — all telltale warning signs of this phenomenon. Should the eyes remain closed for just one second longer than usual the consequences can be fatal, as in this second the car covers a whole 28 metres when travelling at a speed of 100 km/h - effectively driverless and therefore out of control."    (Continued via ZDNet)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Don't get so close: A guide for computer work

Avoiding visual ergonomics problems in your office environment ...

"Remember when your mom told you not to sit too close to the television, because it would ruin your eyes? Well, how many hours of the day or evening do you spend sitting just a couple of feet from your computer screen?

According to a recent survey by MetaFacts Inc., a market research firm, people in the United States spent an average of 25.9 hours a week on their computers in 2005.

And it looks once again as if Mom might've had a point -- a collection of problems, called computer vision syndrome, can result from spending so much time in front of a computer monitor. (Watch how to avoid another computer-related malady, 'crackberry thumb.' )

According to Dr. Jeffrey Anshel, optometrist and author of "Visual Ergonomics in the Workplace," The American Optometric Association describes computer vision syndrome as "that complex of eye and vision complaints that people experience during or after computer use: eyestrain, blurred vision, headaches, neck and backaches."

What do neck and backaches have to do with vision? Dr. Anshel explains, "because the eyes lead the body, people will adjust their body posture to make it easier for their eyes to see. So, very often if someone has a backache or neck or shoulder problem it could be their eyes."

Headaches and dry eyes are also symptoms of computer vision syndrome. The causes can include poor lighting, glare, a desk or workstation that is not set up correctly, and even uncorrected vision problems.

... In terms of the physical environment, Dr. Anshel says, "the No. 1 problem I see in the workplace is the height of the monitor." He says that most monitors are actually too high, and recommends positioning the monitor "so that if someone is sitting in a comfortable posture, sitting back in their chair, if they're looking straight ahead they should be looking just over the top of the monitor." He also recommends that the monitor be angled back about 10 to 15 degrees."    (Continued via CNN.com)    [Ergonomics Resources]

Are mouse designers taking the mickey?

Even people in the field overlook their own office ergonomics ...

"Watching the grainy 1968 video demonstration by mouse inventor Doug Engelbart, I was struck by how little has changed in the intervening decades. He fluffs the presentation somewhat, things don’t work properly, and he seems to have trouble getting his primitive mouse prototype to point at the right bit of the screen.

... But the thing that most strikes me about that ground-breaking demo at Stanford Research Institute at Menlo Park, California, is the mouse. It doesn’t look radically different in form or function to the one that’s probably near your hand right now.

The way we see Engelbart holding and using the mouse is certainly no different to modern times. For many years no one really gave any thought to mouse design above and beyond pure functionality. But as problems with repetitive strain-related injuries (RSI) started to surface as PCs took over the workplace, this gradually changed.

These days there are perhaps a few dozen good designs, but hundreds more bad ones. Sadly, many people – even those who should know better – still can’t tell one from the other, until it’s too late and one day they find out, as I did a year or so ago, the sheer misery that RSI can bring.

I’d edited many articles about ergonomics and usability over the years, yet somehow viewed myself as immune. Luckily, in my case it wasn’t too severe and I cured it by the simple expedient of throwing my ordinary mouse away and adopting a vertical model that I found suited my working style. But it’s a sad reflection of the general state of awareness of ergonomics that no one I’ve met (including many work colleagues who, like me, fall into the “should know better” category) has ever heard of a vertical mouse. But everyone is different and other people find trackballs, trackpads or even more exotic designs a better solution."    (Continued via vnunet)    [Ergonomics Resources]