EHS Ergonomics News
Keeping It Simple
With the change of year comes a whole host of predictable behaviors....
How to Stay Active When You Work Behind a Desk All Day
Summer is gone, which means those beach vacations, bike rides and long walks through the park most likely have disappeared along with the warmer temperatures. But just because you’re stuck at your office desk every day doesn’t mean you have to endure aches, pains and hours of sitting in the same position. Follow these tips to stay active even while in the office....
Managing Health: Can You Hear Me Now?
We need to be smart about how we use smart phones. With 187 billion text messages sent last year, many Americans – and their hands, wrists and shoulders – are feeling the pain. ...
Is the Million-Dollar Cost of Some Workplace Stretching Programs Worth It?
Blake McGowan, managing consultant and ergonomics engineer at Humantech, claims the cost of implementing a stretching program for a medium-sized manufacturing facility can range from a whopping $390,000 to $1,365,000 (see calculations). And, he says, the claims of the benefits of stretching to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in the work force have been unfounded...
A Disposable Work Force: Farm Worker Advocates Push for Agricultural Worker Protections
A new report published by the advocacy organization Farmworker Justice criticizes the H-2A temporary guest work visa program, claiming it makes agricultural workers vulnerable to poor working conditions. Farm worker advocates argue that to improve these conditions, foreign agricultural workers should be able to seek legal immigration status...
The Billion-Dollar Ergonomics Opportunity
What would U.S. employers do with an extra billion dollars a month...
Textile Association: MassCOSH Report on Laundry Work “Distorts Reality”
The Textile Rental Services Association of America (TRSA) rejected a recent Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) report that suggested textile service workers were exposed to ergonomic injuries and other safety and health hazards. TRSA claimed the report distorts reality and may have been “prompted by union posturing.”...
Report: Latino Hotel Employees Face Low Pay, High Injury Rates
The good news is that the hotel and accommodation industry has experienced some job growth in the last 6 months. The bad news, according to a report from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), is that some workers in this industry – particularly Latino workers – may face low wages and high injury rates...
MassCOSH: Laundry Work is a Pain for Angelica Textile Services Employees
Following a July survey of 113 employees at Angelica Textile Services in Somerville, Mass., the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) discovered a range of health and safety concerns, particularly those involving musculoskeletal injuries...
Managing Health: Don’t Call It a Comeback!
Author James Mallon is a professional ergonomist, not an economist, but he’s taken a very keen interest in the economy and its indicators over the last 5 years...
Summertime Blues
In the summer, powered lawn equipment, insect stings, over-eager barbecue aficionados and alcohol make off-the-job safety a challenge...
The Break Room: Planting Safety Awareness at Home
The long, sunny days of summer are an open invitation for gardening, yard work, sports and other outdoor activities – all of which can also equal increased ergonomic risks...
Study Finds Multidisciplinary Interventions No More Effective than Brief Ones for Employees with Low Back Pain
Employees suffering from low back pain (LBP) who were treated by a team of experts and assigned a case manager who collaborated on a comprehensive rehabilitation plan with the experts and patient did not show better results than employees who received a brief intervention consisting of a clinical examination and advice offered by a rehabilitation physician and a physiotherapist, according to a group of researchers from Denmark...
Short Exercises Can Make Office Work Less of a Pain in the Neck
Office workers who experience neck and shoulder pain may suffer from reduced productivity, higher health care costs and long-term absences from work. Researchers from Denmark suggest that encouraging short periods of exercise for office workers can help reduce neck and shoulder pain...
Managing Service Quality in Ergonomics Programs: A Path to Improved Outcomes
The service quality of ergonomics programs – and other employee-focused occupational health programs – has an equivalent impact on the prevention of employee injuries...
OSHA Reopens the Door on Proposed MSD Column Addition on the 300 Log
In the May 17 Federal Register, OSHA published a notice that it would reopen the public record on the proposal to revise recordkeeping requirements by adding a work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) column on the OSHA 300 log...
Web Exclusive Feature: Snuffing Out Industrial Dust Hazards
The right dust collection system not only will prevent hazardous situations, but also can improve worker comfort and productivity...
Managing Health: An Alternative View to the MSD Pitch
What if we had an ergonomics standard? What if business understood the value of ergonomics? How would that impact workplace safety...
Older Workers Benefit from Health Behavior Programs with Personal Coaching
A combination of personal coaching and Web-based risk assessment may help engage older employees in health behavior programs...
Experts Recommend Progressive Resistance Training for Older Adults to Build Muscle, Increase Strength
Not only can adults fight the battle of strength and muscle loss that comes with age, they can even grow stronger with the right kind of exercise, according to experts at the University of Michigan Health System...
Researchers: Walk Quickly, Don’t Shuffle, on Slippery Surfaces
By studying helmeted guinea fowl, birds that react to slips and falls much like humans do, researchers concluded that moving quickly in a forward, firm-footed stance across a slippery surface is less likely to lead to a fall than if you shuffle or move slowly...
OSHA Schedules Teleconferences for Small Businesses to Provide Input on Proposed MSD Column
OSHA, in partnership with the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, announced a series of three teleconferences to reach out to the small business community for input on the agency’s proposal to add a column for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) on employer injury and illness logs...
Domestic Service Workers Vulnerable to Occupational Hazards
Domestic service employees who perform tasks such as cleaning, cooking, childcare and care of the elderly may be exposed to occupational health risks such as harsh chemicals and musculoskeletal injuries all while having limited workplace safety rights, an employment law expert explains...
Hearing Loss Rate in Older Adults Climbs to Over 60 Percent
According to a new study led by Johns Hopkins and National Institute on Aging researchers, nearly two-thirds of Americans age 70 and older have hearing loss, but black Americans in the same age range seem to have a protective effect against this loss...
EEOC Examines Employers’ Treatment of Unemployed Job Applicants
In a Feb. 16 public meeting, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) examined the impact of employers considering only those currently employed for job vacancies. ...
