Ergonomics Benefits

How Ergonomics Improves Work and Safety
The association between work and injury and illness is centuries old. It is even thought that Ancient Man concerned himself with developing the right tools that allowed for the most efficiency and least amount of discomfort.

Today, we continue to look for ways to improve the relationship between our "tools" and our jobs. One way to do that is to look at the risk factors in the workplace. These can be divided into 3 areas: physical characteristics, environmental characteristics, and workplace hazards.

1. Physical characteristics of work:

· Posture

· Force

· Repetition

· Duration

· Recovery time

· Velocity/acceleration

· Heavy dynamic exertion

2. Segmental vibration Environmental characteristics of work:

· Heat

· Cold

· Lighting

· Noise

· Whole body vibration

3. Workplace hazards:

· Physical stress

· Mental stress

· Workload

· Hours (shifts, overtime)

· Slips and falls

· Fire

· Exposure hazards (electrical, chemical, biological, radiation)