Consumer products are saturated with ergo items from chairs to footrests and even staplers. There are numerous books and resources to pass the ergonomic litmus test on your own as well as specialists to hire for an evaluation. Many workplaces pay for these evaluations to prevent injury, loss of productivity, and save from increased insurance rates when either the worker or the company suspects risk of repetitive strain due to repetitive motion. The bottom line is that repetitive strain injuries (RSI), being one of the leading issues faced in the workforce, can lead to long-term disability, which in the end costs everyone both monetarily and personally.
The pain is not only physical but mental as well, in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the study also revealed that employees with pain scored more than 45 percent lower on an overall rating of physical health, compared to those without pain, and were five times more likely to report health-related limitations in job performance. The more severe the pain, the greater its effect on productivity. Pain was also linked to a 23 percent reduction in their mental health score.
Ergonomics, also called human engineering or human factors engineering, is an
interdisciplinary science that studies the relationship between the worker's capabilities, the task to be performed, and the design of the workspace or work environment in order to assure health, safety, and more efficient productivity. It takes account of the worker's capabilities and limitations in seeking to ensure that tasks, equipment, information and the environment suit each worker. Repetitive job activities coupled with poor worker posture and incorrect design and placement of work tools has led to an increase in repetitive strain injury claims filed with the US Department of Labor. In 1994 over forty five million workers' compensation claims were filed for repetitive injuries at computer workstations, and by 1997 the claims filed doubled.
With the increase of repetitive strain injuries (RSI), occupational therapists have been moving in to the field of ergonomics thus making it one of the top 10 professions of the coming decades. Though ergonomics promises to be an almost fail-safe measure to increased production, and activity, while saving the workforce from burn-out and debilitating injuries, only some companies are requiring mandatory use of this science while other companies leave it up to the worker to seek training or evaluation.
If you were to ask the average worker how important ergonomics was to them in the workplace, few would know the answer as this subject may not always be addressed in detail or as a requirement by the company. How can a worker monitor whether or not he or she is ergonomically correct while at the same time ensuring top productivity in the tasks they perform?
Ergonomics, ergo meaning 'work' and nomos meaning 'law' dates back as far as the Hellenic period of Ancient Greece, and has a long history of contributors to this science who were responsible for selecting and developing tools, machines, and work processes to better suit the worker and the task. There are five principles of ergonomics that can help in the design and redesign of products: safety, comfort, and ease of use, productivity/performance, and aesthetics. There are three branches or domains of ergonomics, which go to make this a very well rounded science that address basic needs in the workplace and beyond. The three are: physical ergonomics, cognitive ergonomics, and organizational ergonomics. Physical ergonomics is concerned with human anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biomechanical characteristics as they
relate to physical activity. Cognitive ergonomics is concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system. Organizational ergonomics: is concerned with the optimization of sociotechnical systems, including their organizational structures, policies, and processes.
Since its beginnings, the goal of ergonomics was to meet the needs of both worker and industry, and thus would herald a methodology that would forever change design and production. This goal has sprouted numerous methodologies, theories, and studies. There are three basic steps to ergonomics, which are the same no matter which branch. The first is to conduct an evaluation. The second is to educate the worker, company, and designers. Finally, to be proactive.
On techniques developed in ergonomics, the Alexander Technique lists three principles that will help maximize the effectiveness of this science. The Alexander Technique is a method, which can help you perform all your usual activities without unnecessary tension. It can be applied to sitting, standing, walking, lifting, speaking - to whatever you do during your day (The Complete Guide To The Alexander Technique). There are three principles to the Alexander Technique that make it an effective tool for evaluation, education, and being proactive: all work activities should permit the worker to adopt several different, but equally healthy and safe postures; where muscular force has to be exerted it should be done by the largest appropriate muscle groups available; work activities should be performed with the joints at about mid-point of their range of movement. This applies particularly to the head, trunk, and upper limbs.
