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• Ergonomics is the management of the workplace, derived from the Greek terms "ergon" meaning work, "oikos" meaning house, and "nemein" meaning manage
• Ergonomics addresses environmental, organizational, and human characteristics that can affect health and safety in the workplace
• The aim of ergonomics is to ensure cohesion between a worker, their job role, and their workstation
• Factors in ergonomics include body posture, movement, and environmental factors like noise, lighting, temperature, and humidity
• Ergonomics focuses on improving human-machine interaction to enhance system performance
• Ergonomics studies the fit between people and their work, focusing on biomechanics and the design of equipment and the workplace
• Ergonomists, also known as human factors specialists, ensure the safety and efficiency of equipment, systems, and transportation
• Benefits of ergonomics include preventing illnesses, reducing risks, improving productivity, and preventing musculoskeletal disorders
• Ergonomics plays a vital role in improving productivity, reducing costs, improving work quality, reducing absenteeism, and boosting morale
• Common ergonomic hazards include objects, environments, and systems that result in poor posture or uncomfortable movements
• Ergonomic hazards may be related to work tasks, equipment used, and information and procedures in the workplace
• Ergonomic hazards may be related to:

  • The work tasks
  • The equipment used at work
  • Information, instructions and procedures
  • The physical environment
  • The social environment
  • Physical and mental capabilities
  • Knowledge and experience
• Common hazards in office work environments that can impact employee health and safety:

  • Poor or inadequate lighting
  • Computer monitor, keyboard, mouse use, repetitive strains and positioning
  • Prolonged sitting in the same position
  • Slip, trip, and falls
  • Stress
  • Indoor air quality
  • Chemicals, e.g. cleaning products
  • Electrical shock
  • Contagious illnesses spread by sick workers
  • Fire
• Ergonomics Risks:

  • Ergonomics studies risk factors inherent in the worker, task, and environment
  • Workers come in all shapes and sizes, each presenting unique ergonomic risk factors
  • The task of a job itself can present risk factors that increase likelihood of injury
  • The workplace environment may also contain exposures to risk factors
• General Ways to Prevent Ergonomic Hazards and Risks:

  • Workstation improvements: Redesign workstations, provide adjustable equipment, maintain good body posture
  • When transporting and handling: Be knowledgeable about body limitations, provide carts for transporting materials, label loads with weight, lift with legs, assign multiple staff for heavy objects, lift slowly and carefully, avoid twisting or turning spine, use shoulder pads and knee pads, store materials at waist height, design containers with handles
• • Staff scheduling and training: Rotate workers among tasks, improve work schedule, increase staff, provide breaks, offer training on ergonomics policies and procedures
  • General housekeeping: Follow good housekeeping practices, keep floors free of obstruction, use tools in good condition, maintain power tools, use gloves, practice proper machine handling
• Ergonomics Risk Assessment:

  • Carrying out a risk assessment is the best way to identify ergonomic hazards in the workplace
  • Talk to employees to learn about job tasks and workstations that can be improved
  • Factors that increase the risk of injury include awkward postures, bending, forceful exertions, insufficient rest breaks, lifting, noise, pushing, pulling, reaching, repetitive motions, static postures, temperature extremes, and vibration
• How to Manage Hazards in Your Workplace:

  • Carry out an appropriate risk assessment
  • Introduce appropriate control measures
  • Train all employees in their duties
• Ergonomics Assessment Tools:

  • Washington State Ergonomic and MSD Risk Assessment Checklist
  • The NIOSH Lifting Equation
  • Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA)
  • Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA)
  • Liberty Mutual Manual Material Handling Tables (SNOOK Tables)
  • Hand-Arm Vibration Calculator
  • Choose tools based on workplace needs and gather objective data
• Key areas to be identified in the design of new work systems and evaluation of existing ones to ensure all aspects are considered systematically
• Human-machine approach enables key areas to be identified irrespective of the particular system so that ergonomics can be applied consistently in different systems
• First step in the ergonomic process is to describe the work system and its boundaries to specify the content and scope of ergonomics application
• Human and machine components, as well as the local environment, are defined and described in terms of their main components
• Interactions between various components are analyzed to identify points of application of basic knowledge to the design/evaluation process
• Examples of interactions include:

  • Interaction between displays and workspace, directing attention to the positioning of displays for visibility
  • Interaction between effectors and workspace, introducing considerations about space requirements for body movements
• Benefits of a strong workplace ergonomics process backed by the results of the Washington State DLI study:

  • Ergonomics reduces costs by preventing costly MSDs
  • Ergonomics improves productivity by designing jobs for good posture and efficiency
  • Ergonomics improves quality by reducing errors and scrap
  • Ergonomics improves employee engagement, reducing turnover and absenteeism
  • Ergonomics creates a better safety culture, showing commitment to safety and health
• Factors affecting workstation ergonomics:

  • Physical factors like posture, limb position, and back support
  • Environmental factors like lighting, noise, temperature, and ventilation
  • Workstation design including work surface, monitor position, and keyboard/mouse placement
  • Personal factors such as worker's size, shape, vision, physical fitness, and psychological abilities
• Ergonomics impacts workplace design by:

  • Conducting basic research to inform standards, legislation, and design guidelines
  • Working in a consultancy capacity to contribute knowledge to human-machine interactions in work systems
• Ergonomics goal is to provide maximum productivity with minimal cost, focusing on the physiological or health cost to the worker
• Proactive Ergonomics emphasizes prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders through recognizing, anticipating, and reducing risk factors in new systems or workplaces
• Ergonomic principles for good workplace design include:

  • Working in neutral postures
  • Reducing excessive force
  • Keeping everything in reach
  • Working at proper height
  • Minimizing excessive motions
  • Minimizing fatigue and static load
  • Minimizing pressure points
  • Providing clearance
  • Moving, exercising, and stretching
  • Maintaining a comfortable environment
• Hospitality industry is a prime candidate for implementing ergonomic solutions due to the physical nature of many jobs, with workers at risk of on-the-job injuries
• In the hotel industry, employees are often overloaded with work pressure, compromising their comfort while providing comfort for guests, leading to musculoskeletal injuries, especially in housekeeping
• In the hospitality industry, about 62% of housekeeping injuries are musculoskeletal
• Bed making is the leading cause of musculoskeletal injuries in housekeeping
• Mattresses are bigger and heavier than before, increasing lifting strain
• Mattresses are often below-the-waist level and in close quarters with walls or furniture
• Housekeepers must assume awkward positions to make beds
• Housekeepers are prone to repetitive stress injuries from tasks like changing sheets, washing floors, and vacuuming
• Housekeepers lift and carry heavy objects, push heavy carts and vacuums, and reach high and low to clean rooms