Safety should be a priority for any organization and built into the company culture—it should be integrated into every activity of every employee every moment of every day. Yes, it’s that important. An injured employee costs your company in more ways than one, so anything you can do to prevent employee injuries/accidents is increasing your bottom line. If you’ve never heard of ergonomics, you should do some research and look for ways to incorporate it into your company culture.
What is ergonomics and why does it matter? The science of ergonomics first came into existence during World War II. Scientists came up with the concept of designing equipment for the people who would actually be using it. These scientists took into account environmental factors and safety factors for the employees along with the worker’s physical requirements and limitations. Ergonomics includes concepts from many studies including psychology, sociology, physiology, biomechanics and engineering.
Ergonomics focuses on the safety of a worker in using equipment designed for him to perform a certain task. A piece of equipment designed with the safety and comfort of the worker will cut down on employee injuries. This is very important to employers considering that back and neck injuries are the highest reported disabling workplace injury and reported with the highest frequency, costing Americans $86 billion each year, according to data from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Other common workplace injuries that can be prevented through ergonomics include musculoskeletal disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis.
Ergonomics looks at work tasks and the employee’s requirements to perform a task including the level of repetitions required, vibrations and if any awkward body positions are required. When looking at these considerations, safety managers and ergonomists can come up with better and safer ways to perform tasks including the use or ergonomically designed equipment.
For more information about using ergonomics in your workplace, try one of these free ergonomic assessment tools from injury prevention consultants, ErgoPlus, to find out where you can make improvements to employee safety:
- Upper body assessment tools
- Body posture assessment tools
- Pushing/pulling assessment
- Lifting/lowering assessment
Keeping your workforce safe not only benefits your workers but benefits you as an employer, cutting down on workers compensation claims as well as lost time and productivity due to employee absenteeism.
Learn more about Manning Insurance Services.