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Workplace Ergonomics

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Define ergonomics
Establish ergonomics in the
workplace
Introduce basic skills in the
recognition & control of
occupational ergonomic hazards
Introduce ergonomic solutions.

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WHAT IS ERGONOMICS?

Ergos = work
Nomos = laws
Ergonomics = the laws of work

What Does Ergonomics Mean?

Ergonomics is the scientific
discipline concerned with the fit
between people and their work.
It puts people first, taking
account of their capabilities and
limitations

It considers body dimensions,

mobility, and the bodys stress
behaviour

Aims to make sure the tasks,

equipment, information and the
environment fit each other
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The idea behind ergonomics is to adapt the

work environment to the worker rather than
adapt the worker to their environment

Why Ergonomics?

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ERGONOMIC STUDY AREAS

WORKERS - what they bring to the job

TOOLS - what they bring to the worker
TASKS - what the worker must do
ENVIRONMENT- the conditions
surrounding the worker and the tool

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How can ergonomics and human

factors improve health and safety?

Applying ergonomics to the workplace can:

Reduce the potential for accidents
Reduce the potential for injury and ill health such
as aches, pains and damage to the wrists, shoulders
& back pains
Improve performance and productivity

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Ergonomics is the scientific discipline

concerned with the fit between
people and their work.

To assess the fit, a range of factors

need to be considered,
including:

The job/task being done

The individuals physical and
psychological characteristics
Design of tasks
Manual handling

The job/task being done

The demands on the worker (activities, workload,

shift work and fatigue)

The equipment used (its design in terms of size,

shape and how appropriate it is for the task)

The physical environment (temperature, humidity,

lighting, noise, vibration)

Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned

with the fit between people and their work.

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The individuals physical and

psychological characteristics
Body size and shape
Fitness and strength
Posture
The sense (vision, hearing and touch)
Mental abilities
Personality
Knowledge
Training
Experience
Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned
with the fit between people and their work.

Design of tasks
Work demands are too high or too
low
Badly designed machinery guards
(awkward to use or requiring
additional effort) slow down the
work
Conflicting demands, e.g. high
productivity and quality
These problems can lead the
employees failing to follow
procedures or removing guards,
causing accidents, injury and ill
health
Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with
the fit between people and their work.

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Manual handling
(Lifting/Carrying)
The load
Is too heavy and/or bulky (placing unreasonable demands on the person
has to be lifted from the floor and/or above the shoulders
cant be gripped properly

The job
involves frequent repetitive lifting
requires awkward postures, such as bending or twisting
is performed on uneven, wet, or sloping floor surfaces
is performed under time pressures and doesnt include enough rest
breaks

These problems may lead to physical injuries, such as back pain, or injury to
the arms, hands, or fingers
Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned
with the fit between people and their work.

RESULTING INJURIES ARE CALLED:

Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTD),

Or
Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI),
Or
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD)

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Work-Related Musculoskeletal
Disorders (MSDs)

Work-Related
Musculoskeletal Disorders
(MSDs) are occupational
disorders that involve soft
tissues such as muscles,
tendons, ligaments, joints,
blood vessels and nerves

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WORK-RELATED
MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS

Work-related back pain

and injuries are the most
common musculoskeletal
disorders (MSDs) caused
by manual handling

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WORK-RELATED INJURIES
HAND AND WRIST INJURIES
ARM AND SHOULDER
INJURIES
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Caused when repeated flexing Main cause is repeated lifting
of hand muscles causes and stretching of the muscle
group leading to overuse
median nerve to swell and damage.
exert pressure on the carpal
tunnel of the wrist.
Equipment should be waist
level.
Causes
Heavy demand on hands Tools should control flexing of
Vibrating tools the wrist and elbow.
Cold temperatures

Lifting Biomechanics & Back Pain

Lifting/carrying heavy
object is a forceful task

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The Forces Involved

The amount of force you

place on your back in lifting
may surprise you!

Fulcrum
Think of your back as a lever
- with the fulcrum in the
center, it only takes 5 kg of
force (pressure) to lift a 5 kg
object

The Forces Involved

If you shift the fulcrum to High

one side, it takes much
more force (pressure) to Force
lift the same object. Your
waist acts like the fulcrum
in a lever system, on a
10:1 ratio
Fulcrum
Lifting a 5 kg object puts 50
kg of force (pressure) on
your lower back

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The Forces Involved

When you add in the

45 kg of the average
human upper torso
(upper body), you
see that lifting a 10 kg Fulcrum

object actually puts

550 kg of force (pressure)
on the lower back!

The Forces Involved

If you were 5 kg overweight,

it would add an additional
50 kg of force (pressure) on
your back every time you Fulcrum
bend to lift an object!

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LIFTING TECHNIQUE

Team Lifting

If one person can lift 40 kg object:

How much can two (2) person of similar height and

build lift?
How much can three (3) person of similar height
and build lift?

Note: Double the people DOES NOT MEAN double

the capacity

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Team Lifting

If one person can lift 40 kg object:

How much can two (2) person of similar height and
build lift?
(40 kg x 70%) x 2 = 56 kg

How much can three (3) person of similar height

and build lift?
(40 kg x 50%) x 3 = 60 kg

Ergonomics at Workplace

Risk of injury - Heavy lifting Cart reduces risk of injury

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What to do ??

PREVENT, PREVENT, PREVENT !!!

a) Warm up & stretch before activities that are repetitive,

static or prolonged
b) Take frequent breaks from ANY sustained posture every
20-30 minutes
c) Respect pain change positions or stop painful activity
d) Recognize early signs of inflammatory process, & tx
early

Maintain
Neutral
Posture

a) Maintain erect position of back

& neck w/ shoulders relaxed
b) Position equipment & work directly in front of and close to
your major tasks
c) Keep upper arms close to the body, elbows 90-100 degrees
d) Keep feet flat on floor, upper body weight resting on sits
bones
e) Wrists as neutral as possible; safe zone for wrist movement
is 15 degrees in all directions

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You
talking
to me?

f) Avoid bending neck forward for prolonged

periods of time (*remember quadruple the
force); use a copy holder
g) Avoid static positions for prolonged time;
muscles fatigue---MOVE to circulation!

Modify Tasks:

from Mike Mandel, Making Good Time

(CMP Bulletin vol. 8 no. 2, California
Museum of Photography, UC California,
Riverside, 1989)

a) Alternate activities frequently; rotate heavy &/or repetitive tasks w/

lighter less repetitive ones.
b) If become worse, REASSESS task setup & look for alternative
methods
c) Avoid repetitive or prolonged grip activities
d) Avoid pinching w/ wrist in flexion or wrist deviation (bending to side)
e) Take frequent breaks to stretch & rest hands

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Body
Mechanics

Use the largest joints & muscles to do the job

Use 2 hands to lift rather than one, even with light objects and
tasks.
Avoid lifting w/ the forearm in full pronation (palm down) or
supination (palm up)
Slide or push & pull objects instead of lifting
Keep reaching to a minimum
Carry objects close to body at waist level

Correct & Incorrect Techniques

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ERGO REMINDERS from

Stretchbreak.com

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Practice Wellness at Work and Home !

Exercise Nutrition Relaxation

Spirit

Mind

Body

MOVE

STRETCH

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Ergonomics and Human Factors

What are they?
Same thing or different?
Why are they important?

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Ergonomics and Human Factors

What are they?
Ergonomics
The application of scientific information Human Factors
concerning humans to the design of
objects, systems and environment for Environmental, organisational
human use. and job factors, and human and
The interaction of technology and people individual characteristics which
influence behaviour at work in a
Basic anatomy, physiology and
psychology
way which can affect health and
safety
Objective to achieve:
The most productive use of human
capabilities
Maintenance of human health and
well-being Ergonomics stressed physical issues
(workstation design,tools etc.) whereas
The job must fit the person and should Human Factors stressed human issues
not compromise human capabilities and
( environment, cognitive, stress, etc. ).
limitations.
From the Ergonomics Society website at
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www.ergonomics.org.uk

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There is a large overlap

Ergonomics Human factors
Human capabilities Whole system
Hardware design Organisation
Work stations Culture
User interfaces Tasks
Working environment Errors
Manual handling Procedures
Personal safety, health and Training and competence
well being Major hazard

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Why important?
Up to 80% of accident causes can be attributed to
human factors
All major accidents involve a number of human
failures
Human factors is concerned with
Understanding the causes of human failures
Preventing human failures.

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Industrial Accident Prevention

Underlying accident causes are faults of
management and supervision plus the unwise
methods and procedures that management and
supervision fail to correct

Heinrich (1931)

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REVIEW:
1. What is ergonomics?
2. What are the usual causes of carpal tunnel
syndrome?
3. At what level should equipment controls be
located?
4. Compare and contrast between ergonomics and
human factor.

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Exercise
Back pain is one of the most common ergonomic injuries and is
often caused by ordinary work activities, which include heavy lifting.

If a machine operator, as shown in FIGURE Q1, is able to lift a

box of 20 kg in weight, calculate the weight of the box that can
be lifted by:
i. two machine operators of similar height and build
ii. three machine operators of similar height and build

If the upper torso (part of human body) of the machine operator,

as shown in FIGURE Q1, weighs about 50 kg, how much force
(pressure) in terms of kilogram this person puts on his lower
back when lifting a box of 25 kg in weight.
Explain how ergonomics and human factors can improve health
and safety in a workplace.
FIGURE Q1 :
Heavy Lifting
What kind of workplace problems can ergonomics and human
factors solve?

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