Ergonomics

On November 17, Health Canada published its Policy on Managing Incomplete Claims for Exemption Filed under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (HMIRA). The new policy is intended to prevent confidential business information (CBI) claims from being held up in the review process due to missing or incomplete claim information. Upon formal notice of incomplete […]

Record flooding in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, has caused a slew of secondary health and safety hazards. Among these issues is the high risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals in contaminated flood waters, including lead, arsenic, benzene, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. With damage to chemical manufacturing facilities, […]

“Do you recommend that my ergonomics teams be cross-functional? Or does that dilute the team’s focus?” We get this question often. There are several considerations here. Before creating a team, you first want to think about its purpose, which is to conduct risk assessments, identify solutions, and lead improvement efforts. The team should also be […]

October is National Ergonomics Month, and it’s the perfect time for employers everywhere to take a step back and revisit their ergonomic programs, especially in workplaces where ergonomic risks might not be so easy to see. You may think you don’t have to worry about workplace ergonomics because you’re not seeing the immediate costs and […]

In an effort to generate greater awareness and prevention of workplace musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and other ergonomics-related injuries and illnesses, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) along with occupational safety and health organizations around the world are celebrating October as Global Ergonomics Month. The Workers Health & Safety Centre of Ontario (WHSC) estimates the total […]

Unprecedented flooding in the Corpus Christi and Houston/Galveston Bay areas caused by Hurricane Harvey has left businesses, residents and first responders in one of the nation’s largest petroleum and chemical processing regions with more to worry about than rising waters. Secondary effects of the flooding have created high risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals in […]

Workplace assessments are one of the key steps to improving ergonomics, especially when the goal is to prevent musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).  However, it is our experience that many organizations assess for conditions which are not linked to causing MSDs.  For an effective assessment of exposure to MSD risk factors,  the bottom line is a need to […]

One of the ongoing discussions in the workplace is the comparison of different office workstation setups, specifically with the multitude of options available today; from various keyboard structures and angled mice, to monitor sizes and layouts. Working with multiple desktop monitors has been increasing recently, in an effort to enhance productivity and efficiency.  On the […]

Observed annually in the United States in June each year, National Safety Month focuses on reducing the leading causes of injury and death at work, on the roads, and in the home and in communities. This year’s theme – “Keep Each Other Safe” – serves as an important reminder of the role we all play in protecting […]

At Automation Alley’s TECHTakeover I explored the future of manufacturing at the presentation on collaborative and autonomous robotics. The technology presented was astounding, and opened my “ergo eyes” to a whole new dimension for the field of ergonomics. In ergonomics, there are four main risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs); posture, force, frequency and duration. […]