Applied Ergonomics Significance and Opportunity

Why include a chapter in this book on ergonomics—on only one specific technical and managerial element within the many such elements in an effective operational risk management system To answer that question, and to explore the subject further, this chapter will  

On the Practice of Safety, Fourth Edition. Fred A. Manuele. 

Present a composite of lift-carry-deposit techniques. 

How significant are ergonomics-related incidents within the universe of workplace injuries and illnesses On November 9,2011, as is done annually, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued a bulletin titled Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Requiring Days Away from Work, 2010. Keep in mind that statistics in the report pertain only to days-away-from-work cases. 

Data in Table 5 of the BLS report was combined for strains, sprains, tears repetitive motion overexertion and carpal tunnel syndrome. They represent 66.5 percent of total incidents. In the report, there is a category captioned Soreness, pain, including back. If the lost-time back injuries are included with the four previously mentioned categories, the summation represents 77.8 percent of total lost-time cases. In any case, 66.5 or 77.8 percent is major. 

Applied ergonomics has become a major element in the practice of safety. Because of the prominence of musculoskeletal injuries within the universe of occupational injuries and illnesses, safety practitioners must achieve broad knowledge in applied ergonomics. As ergonomics emerged to attain the prominence it now has, opportunities arose for achievement, recognition, and professional satisfaction far beyond what has been typical for safety professionals. 

What is the significance of ergonomics-related incidents within the universe of workplace injuries and illnesses A colleague in an insurance 

Sprain and strain was, by far, the leading nature, or physical effect, of injnry and illness in every major industry division, ranging from over 33 percent in agriculture, forestry, and fishing to over 50 percent in services and in transportation and public utihties [p. 3]. 

For example. Dr. Franklin Mirer, Director of the UAW Health and Safety Department, says that for about 700,000 auto workers, over 50% of all incidents reported are musculoskeletal. And the costs for musculoskeletal injuries tend to run high, especially for serious back injuries. 

Discussions were held with several safety directors to determine how they would respond to estimates of 50% of the number of workers compensation claims and 60% of total claims costs being ergonomics-related. There was general agreement that those estimates were sound, but two cautions were expressed Estimates are applicable if the statistical sample is large enough and variations by industry could be significant. 

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In Chapter 19, Applied Ergonomics Significance and Opportunity, I refer to an article by Alphonse Chapanis titled To Communicate the Human Factors Message, You Have to Know What the Message Is and How to Communicate It. One of his themes is that human factors engineering has to be defined and its practitioners must know what it is to be able to communicate about it successfully. Safety professionals have the same need. 

For the preparation of the proposal recommending that the institute be created, a collection was made of actual cases describing initiatives taken by safety professionals to resolve injury problems by redesigning operations that also resulted in improvements in productivity and cost efficiency. An overwhelming number of examples were submitted of preoperational, operational, and postincident situations. Several of those cases are cited in Chapter 20, Applied Ergonomics Significance and Opportunity. ... 

Chapter 20, Applied Ergonomics Significance and Opportunity, and Chapter 21, On Quality Management and the Practice of Safety, address the design, engineering, and risk assessment aspects that are fundamental in those endeavors. Comments are included in Chapter 18, Prevention through Design The Standard, on the extensive involvement at the National Institute for Safety and Health (NIOSH) on its PtD initiative. 

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