Ergonomics Awareness Education : Ergonomics Awareness Education For employees in caution zone jobs
By the end of this presentation you will be able to: : By the end of this presentation you will be able to: Define ergonomics and its benefits
Identify work activities that can lead to injury
List examples of ergonomic principles that reduce risk of injury
Identify parts of the body that get injured at work
Recognize and report signs and symptoms of injury early
Definition of ergonomics : Definition of ergonomics “Ergonomics is the science and practice of designing jobs and workplaces to match the capabilities and limitations of the human body.”
Simply put:
“fitting the job to the worker”
The goal of ergonomics is to create jobs, tools, equipment and workplaces that fit people, rather than making people adapt to fit them.
Benefits of ergonomics : Benefits of ergonomics Ergonomics helps to prevent injuries
Ergonomics has other benefits
Reduced fatigue and discomfort
Increased productivity
Improved quality of work
Improved quality of life
Injuries and risk factors : Injuries and risk factors Now that we’ve given you a definition of ergonomics, and discussed some of the benefits of ergonomics, we’ll next look at:
Common types and symptoms of injury
Causes and prevention of injury
What are Work-related Musculo Skeletal Disorders (WMSDs)? : What are Work-related Musculo Skeletal Disorders (WMSDs)? The injuries that ergonomics in the workplace can help to prevent are called work-related musculoskeletal injuries, or WMSDs.
WMSDs are also known as:
Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs)
Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSIs)
Overuse injuries
WMDSs affect the soft tissues of the body – the muscles, tendons that connect muscles to bones, ligaments that connect bone to bone, nerves, blood vessels, pretty much every part of your body that’s not a bone or internal organ.
Usually WMSDs develop gradually, but sometimes can appear suddenly
Can be serious (and can even require surgery), if not taken care of early
What are some of the symptoms of WMSDs? : What are some of the symptoms of WMSDs? Discomfort
Pain
Numbness
Burning
Swelling
Change in color Having one or more of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean you have an injury, though.
Everyone has had muscle aches or stiffness after working or exercising hard, especially when you’re not used to it. Usually these symptoms go away as you rest or as you get used to the work. That’s different from symptoms of injury, which last longer or include things like numbness and tingling that mean something more serious might be going on.
Sometimes these symptoms might make it difficult to do your job or things around the house, or they might wake you up at night and keep you from getting a good night’s sleep.
Tingling
Tightness, loss of flexibility.
What causes WMSDs? : What causes WMSDs? There are many things that everyone does on the job and at home that could contribute to a WMSD if they are done for long enough periods of time.
These activities are called “risk factors.” Risk factors include:
Awkward Postures
High Hand Force
Repetitive Motions
Repeated Impacts
Heavy, Frequent, or Awkward Lifting
Moderate to High Hand-Arm Vibration
Risk Factors : Risk Factors Just because your job has risk factors, doesn’t mean that you’re going to have a WMSD, though.
Whether or not a risk factor will result in a WMSD depends on:
Duration (how long you are exposed to it)
Frequency (how often you are exposed to it and how much rest you get in between)
Intensity (how much of the risk factor there is)
Combinations of risk factors, where you are exposed to more than one risk factor at a time.
The more risk factors you have at once, the more likely an injury will occur.
Risk Factors : Risk Factors Duration
usually need hours of exposure before risk factors become a concern
Can be all at one time or cumulative over the day
You don’t need to be exposed to a risk factor for hours on end to increase your chance of being injured, though. For example, it’s easy to see how working bent over for two hours straight could cause back strain. While it’s less likely to cause an injury, you can also strain your back by working bent over 15 minutes at a time if it adds up to hours of exposure over the day.
Something to keep in mind, it’s not that these injuries occur from a single day of exposure. It’s when you have these risk factors as a regular part of your job with multiple days of exposure that injuries can occur.
Risk factors for WMSDs : Risk factors for WMSDs Awkward postures Awkward postures are body positions that stress the muscles and joints.
If you work in these positions too frequently or for too long at a time, the stress can result in injury.
There are a number of different postures that you might get into at work or at home that feel awkward, and any of these might result in injury over time.
However, there are a limited number that are a known risk for injury at work, and those are the ones that we’ll talk about in this presentation.
Neutral postures : Neutral postures To understand what an awkward posture is, it helps to understand what it isn’t.
A good posture is one that places the least amount of stress on your joints and muscles. This is referred to as neutral posture.
It takes the strain out of your muscles and joints and allows them to work more efficiently.
The next slide shows examples of good neutral standing and seated postures.
Neutral postures : Standing neutral posture Seated neutral posture Neutral postures
Hands over head or elbows above shoulders : Hands over head or elbows above shoulders Some parts of your job may require you to move into or maintain postures that aren’t neutral, and these are considered awkward postures.
They include things like the following:
Working with your hands over your head or your elbows above your shoulders.
Repetitively lifting your arms up overhead can lead to a shoulder or elbow WMSD.
Holding your arms up overhead without bringing them down can also cause problems.
These awkward postures can cause problems when maintained for more than 2 hours per day
Neck bent more than 30° : For more than 2 hours per day Neck bent more than 30° Working with your neck bent forward too far can place strain on the neck muscles, especially if you hold this position for a long period of time.
Back bent more than 30° : For more than 2 hours per day Back bent more than 30° Similarly, working while bent over places a lot of strain on the muscles in your back.
Squatting : For more than 2 hours per day Squatting Squatting is a good alternative to bending at the waist, but only for short periods of time.
If you squat for too long, it builds up pressure behind the kneecap, and it can cause damage to the knee.
Kneeling : For more than 2 hours per day Kneeling Kneeling is another way to get down low, but it also causes pressure to build up behind the kneecap.
Wrists bent : Wrists bent bent wrists are only really a risk for injury when combined with high hand forces or repetitive motions (SUCH AS REPETITIVE KEYING, MOUSING, OR PIPETTING), so we’ll talk more about it later when we talk about those risk factors.
Reducing awkward postures : Reducing awkward postures Some jobs will always require awkward postures, but many can be done with fewer awkward postures or none at all with a few simple fixes. These include things like:
Change workstation heights & display heights
Tilt or rotate the work
Use platforms
Bring items within easy reach
Pause to stretch every once in a while if you do have to work in an awkward posture for any length of time
Risk Factors for WMSDs : Risk Factors for WMSDs High hand force High hand force is developed when your hands or fingers hold or squeeze something that requires some effort. This can strain the muscles in your hands and arms as well as the tendons that attach the muscles to bones.
High hand force : High hand force A power grip can be 5 times stronger than a pinch grip = The amount of force required to grip something depends on a number of factors; one of the most important of these is how you grip it.
Slide23 : Your grip strength decreases when you:
Bend your wrists
Pick up slippery items
Wear poorly fitting gloves
Have cold hands
Other factors
Avoid pinch grips : One of the best ways to reduce grip forces is to use power grips instead of pinch grips wherever possible. Examples include:
Pick objects up from the bottom using whole hand
Attach handles or use lift tools
Build up handles on small tools to reduce grip force Avoid pinch grips
Reduce power grip force : There are several things you can do to reduce the grip force you need to use to handle objects, including:
Pick up smaller loads
Use power tools instead of hand tools
Keep tools in good working order
Use lighter tools or tool balancers
Use two hands
Keep your wrists straight
Reduce power grip force
Slide26 : Grip forces are also a problem if you hold onto an object for a long period. You can avoid this by:
Use clamps to hold onto work
Place items on carts rather than carrying them
Put down a tool when not actually using it Avoid holding onto objects for long periods
Tool use example : Working with bent wrists decreases grip strength Use tools that let you keep your wrist straight Tool use example
Risk factors for WMSDs : Risk factors for WMSDs Highly repetitive motions In the next section it will be discussed the reasons why moving the arms repeatedly may cause injuries and means to prevent these injuries.
Highly repetitive motion : Highly repetitive motion Motions are considered highly repetitive when you use the same part of your body to make an identical motion over and over again without pauses.
Most repetitive motions involve the hand, wrist, arm and shoulder, but there are also repetitive motions of the neck and back.
Making the same motion repeatedly can cause a lot of wear and tear on the joints being used, and if you don’t rest to allow time for them to heal, the damage can just keep building up.
Repetitive motion can be a problem when maintained for more than 2 hours a day.
Reducing repetition : Repetitive motions may be required by your job. However, a lot of times you have some control over what motions you make and how often you make them. Things you can do to reduce repetitive motions include:
Arrange work to avoid unnecessary motions
Let power tools and machinery do the work
Spread repetitive work out during the day
Take stretch pauses
Rotate task with co-workers if possible
Change hands or motions frequently
Reducing repetition
Intensive keying : For more than 4 hours per day Intensive keying Intensive keying involves highly repetitive movements of the fingers for a long duration - four or more hours per day - doing tasks like data entry or transcription.
Slide32 : For more than 4 hours per day Intensive mousing Intensive use of the mouse can also be a risk factor for injury due to the following factors:
Reaching for the mouse on the right
Gripping the mouse
Repetitive clicking
Reducing intensive keying/mousing : There are several things you can do to reduce risk of injury from intensive keying/mousing, including:
Spread keyboard and mouse work throughout the day
Use macros for common functions
Take stretch pauses
Improve your posture and move around as much as possible Reducing intensive keying/mousing
Risk factors for WMSDs : Risk factors for WMSDs Heavy, frequent or awkward lifting Lifting loads against gravity places major stresses to the lower back.
The following discussion will be centered on how the risk factors most likely occur and means to reduce them and prevent injuries to the back.
Heavy lifting : Heavy lifting Most people are aware that lifting heavy objects increases the risk for injury.
The load on the low back when lifting something heavy can strain the muscles and eventually damage the disks in your spine.
The load can strain the muscles in the shoulders and upper back as well.
Reducing heavy lifting : Take smaller loads at one time
Use mechanical assistance - handtrucks, carts, hoists, conveyors
Get help from a co-worker Reducing heavy lifting
Frequent lifting : Many people don’t realize that repetitive lifting can be just as hazardous as heavy lifting because of the fatigue it causes.
When you lift frequently you can tire out the muscles, making them more prone to injury.
If your muscles can’t handle the load, the strain can be shifted to your joints and the disks in your spine, placing them at risk for injury, too. Frequent lifting
Reducing frequent lifting : Use mechanical assistance
Slide objects instead of lifting them
Rotate lifting tasks with co-workers if possible
Reducing frequent lifting
Awkward lifting : Lifting even moderate loads while bent over or reaching up or out can also place you at risk of injury, to either your back or your shoulders.
When you bend over to pick something up from below your knees, not only does your back have to lift the object, but it also has to lift the weight of your upper body.
Something else to keep in mind is the same stresses are there when you lower something as when you lift it. Awkward lifting
Reducing awkward lifts : Store items where you won’t have to bend or reach to lift them
Avoid storing things on the floor unless you use a hand truck to move them
Avoid storing heavy items above your shoulders.
Place them on a surface between knee and waist level, instead.
Use rolling stairs to get items down from high shelves Reducing awkward lifts
What you can do: : What you can do: Recognize and report symptoms early
Next we’ll talk about what to do if you have symptoms of a WMSD.
Symptom recognition and reporting : Symptom recognition and reporting Report symptoms if:
Pain is persistent, severe or worsening
Pain radiates
Symptoms include numbness or tingling
Symptoms keep you from sleeping at night
Reporting Procedures at the Hutch/SCCA : Reporting Procedures at the Hutch/SCCA
Notify your supervisor
Complete an Accident Illness Report Form (AIR)
Contact EH&S for an ergonomic evaluation.
Accident Illness Report Form (AIR) : Accident Illness Report Form (AIR) It can be found on the EHS department website or on the SCCA O drive.
Why is it important to report symptoms early? : Why is it important to report symptoms early? Some WMSDs can become chronic, where symptoms don’t go away, and these can be very serious. They can even result in lost work days, permanent disability, or even surgery.
However, the good news is that early treatment is often very simple and successful. Therefore, it’s important for your own health to report symptoms as early as you can.
Five key points to remember : Five key points to remember Ergonomics can help you on your job
2 Risk factors can be reduced and WMSDs prevented
3 WMSDs can happen in jobs with risk factors
4 Reporting symptoms early is important
5 Good ergonomic practices increase productivity and quality of work.
Questions??? Nancy Johnson, OHN : Questions??? Nancy Johnson, OHN 667-1783 or najohnso@fhcrc.org