Who am I?

The average number of days away from the job because of me is 14.

I account for almost 10% of all on the job injuries.

On average I wind up costing $7,472.00 every time I strike.

Who am I?

According to an article on Ergodyne’s website the answer is “a knee injury”

Check out the article entitled “Taking Care of Your Knees at Work” to get more information about statistics, knee physiology, injury types and Risk factors and controls. Find out how and what to do to prevent knee injuries.

While the obvious answer is kneepads, you’ll be surprised at the other things that you can do to protect your knees.

The Basics of Ergonomics (Part 5)

4. Cognitive Ergonomics

Cognitive ergonomics (CE) is a more recent and emergent form of ergonomics that seeks to understand how our environment affects the way we think and feel. It attempts to measure the effects of the work environment on mental processes such as perception, memory and motor skills; A work environment that is designed to maximize the manner in which workers react or respond to it will result in a work environment where fewer accidents happen.

A good example might be the design of a piece of machinery that a worker would need to operate. The size and color of the buttons that the user is going to need to push, the size of the dials, the placement of the buttons and dials, the accessibility of visual displays… all of these will affect the way the user interacts with the piece of machinery. If done well, the user feels more comfortable using the machine, he is more confident and, because of this, he is able to operate the machine safely and his productivity is increased.

If, on the other hand the dials and knobs and displays are too big, too small, badly placed, etc… the user is going to struggle more, feel more frustrated at his job, feel less confident and might make more errors, perhaps even causing injuries to himself and others and decreasing productivity.

While CE is most often associated with the fields of engineering (those who are going to decide the size of the knobs, the colors of the dials and the positions of the displays) there are also implications for workers and supervisors as well. A basic understanding of the way in which we respond to our environment, the way we feel when that interaction is strained or difficult, the way in which things just seem to flow when that interaction is smooth and natural, can and will determine how we set up our work area, how we layout our tools and much more. Finding ways to reduce the mental stress associated with poorly designed work areas, messy workstations, etc… are going to promote better health in the employees and increase productivity.

After all, a happy employee is going to do a lot better work than a stressed, frustrated one.

 

The Basics of Ergonomics (Part 4)

3. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)

CTS is related to RSI resulting in swollen tendons, usually in the hand and arms. It is a result of pressure on the median nerve in the wrist, the nerve that provides movement and feeling to the hand. It is most often associated with typing but can also result from any task that require the hands or wrists to perform repetitive motions such as assembly line work.

Symptoms of CTS:

• Numbness in the hand, wrist or fingers
• An ache or sharp pain in the wrist and/or hand
• Tingling, as if the hand had “fallen asleep”
• Loss of strength and/or control
• Weakness in the hand

Prevention and treatment of CTS:

• Get ergonomic equipment (ergonomic keyboards, wrist pads, ergonomic mouse, etc…)
• Raise or lower equipment so as to reduce stress on the median nerve.
• Wear a wrist brace to keep the wrist from overflexing the wrist and/or hands
• Take frequent breaks and “shake out” the hands, arms and wrists
• A change of duties may be necessary in order to give the arms, wrists and hands a rest and a chance to heal

If the initial symptoms are ignored, the condition can slowly get worse to the point where surgery may be required. In some cases, the damage can become irreversible and the damage permanent.

The Basics of Ergonomics (Part 3)

1. Vibration and impact related injuries – continuous, repeated vibrations to the hands and wrists (though by no means limited to these) can result in vibration white finger (VWF), also known as hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).

Vibrations in the 5-150 Hz are the most dangerous and responsible for most of the cases of VWF.

Symptoms:

• Tingling or numbness at the end of the work shift.
• Color changes – White or pale fingers are usually the first symptom but this is usually followed by redness or a bluish color as the blood returns to the fingers.
• Loss of dexterity as fingers are weakened and muscles start to become damaged.

Preventing VWF:

• Look first of all for alternate ways of doing the job that do not require constant vibration being transferred to the fingers
• If vibration tools must be used, look for tools that have a higher or lower frequency range.
• Use anti-vibration gloves
• Use tool wraps
• Reduce the vibrations to the fingers by holding the tool loosely
• Take frequent breaks (at least 10 minutes for every hour of work)
• Keep your hands warm. Cold hands have a slower blood flow which accelerates and aggravates that problem.

A quick image search on the web will show you why you want to take this issue seriously. The end result of untreated white finger is the same as severe frostbite, so if you need to use vibrating tools, learn to protect against VWF.

 

The Basics of Ergonomics (Part 2)

Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI)

RSI (also known as Cumulative Trauma Disorder) includes all injuries resulting from continuous, repetitive tasks that strain, stretch or compress the muscles, nerves or tenons.

Symptoms of RSI include the following:

• Tingling, numbness and/or loss of sensitivity in the hands
• Loss of strength in the hands that results in clumsiness and/or coordination
• Pain, soreness or aching of the muscles in the hands, wrists, arms or fingers
• Upper back, neck and/or shoulder pain

Preventing RSI

• RSI is usually a result of poor posture or bending and stretching in such a manner as to compress or stretch soft tissue. Proper posture is the first line of defense against RSI. In typing at the computer, for example, make sure that wrists are straight and level. Avoid bending or stretching wrists or fingers excessively or repeatedly. Do not rest your wrists on the desktop or on the computer keyboard.
• Avoid anything that feels strained or awkward.
• Type loosely and hold the mouse gently. As much as possible, avoid using the mouse altogether by learning as many of the keyboard shortcuts as possible.
• Additionally, take time to stretch and shift positions regularly and frequently in order to change up the way the soft tissue, muscles and tenons are being used.
• “Shake out” your hands and arms occasionally to promote better circulation and to loosen up the muscles.
• Take time out for breaks to relax and allow hands and arms to rest.
• Take note of shoulder, neck or upper back pain as this is where problems often show up first.
• Pay attention to frequent headaches as well. They could be a symptom of poor posture.

 

Online Help:

Exercises and stretches to do regularly (click on the number to watch an animated gif of the exercise):

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The Basics of Ergonomics (Part 1)

What is “Ergonomics”?

www.Dictionary.com defines ergonomics as… “the study of the relationship between workers and their environment, esp. the equipment they use.”

While this is technically a correct definition, ergonomics as most of us understand it goes beyond this. It is essentially the science of “fitting” people and the environment (whether work or recreation) together in such a manner as to keep people from muscular, nervous system or skeletal harm, discomfort or fatigue.

Understanding the scope of the problem

According to www.ergoweb.com overexertion injuries account for 25.7% of injury related costs to businesses. Additionally, bodily reaction injuries (defines as the “type of injury [that] occurs when a worker a tries to regain a loss of balance during bending, climbing, and slipping or tripping without falling.”) account for another 10% of that cost.

Back injuries account for most of these injuries. Studies about the effectiveness of back supports have raged for a while but continued studies are slowly showing the undeniable effectiveness of properly worn back supports. Impact and anti-vibration issues also account for a large number of ergonomic-related injuries. Knee injuries also list high on the list of ergonomic issues.

Tomorrow we will start looking at various topics that are addressed in the study of ergonomics.

Ergonomic Tip of the Week # 52

While traveling take stretch breaks. Sitting too long can cause fatigue, backaches, and neck and shoulder stiffness. When traveling by car, give yourself enough time—even if it’s just a few minutes—to make stops on long trips to stand up, stretch, and walk around. When traveling by plane, periodically take walks and do stretches (when the seat belt sign is off).

The ergonomic tip of the day is provided by Ken Oswald at SafetyCommunity.com

Ergonomic Tip of the Week # 51

Wrist Rotation: Hold both hands out in front of you, wrists straight, hands open with palms facing down. Slowly rotate the wrists so the hands form circles. Make 5 to 10 circles, and then repeat in the opposite direction.

The ergonomic tip of the day is provided by Ken Oswald at SafetyCommunity.com

Unsafe Actions – The Deadly Dozen # 8

8. Standing in an unsafe place or assuming an improper posture (as in lifting).

Our unsafe action for today is actually two different unsafe actions.

1. Standing in an unsafe place
   All workplaces have “unsafe zones”. An unsafe zone is any spot or location where the probability of injury is higher than other areas. This could be high traffic areas, areas that are in the path of moving parts or equipment, loading and unloading areas, areas where certain chemicals or hazardous materials are present or any other area where injuries are more probable.
   

   The Fix:

   1. The first step is to identify these areas. This requires a thorough analysis of the work area. This analysis needs to be done with the full work day in view. Conditions change. Certain types of equipment, certain types of procedures may only happen at certain times of the day (e. g. The UPS truck comes at a certain time of the day and needs to be loaded and unloaded when it arrives).
   2. The second step is to either keep personnel away from these zones, limit personnel in those areas to those who must be there and/or make sure that anyone who might be in one of these areas is aware of the potential hazard.
   3. If workers don’t need to be in these areas at all, it becomes a simple matter of restricting personnel from these areas with barricades, ropes, fencing or other barriers.
   4. If some workers need to be in these area at certain times than it becomes a matter of restriction personnel to these individuals and making sure that the workers that have to be in these zones are properly trained and made aware of the dangers as well as making sure that other personnel know that they cannot and should not be in these areas (proper training followed by signs posting the dangers and the restrictions).
   5. If the areas is one in which it is not possible to restrict traffic (an example of this would be public thoroughfares where construction is taking place) then, where possible, measures should be taken to protect people from the danger (for example a covered walkway to protect from falling debris) as well as making sure that they are properly informed about the hazards that they might encounter in these areas. Awareness can be through personnel that is present to make them aware (Flaggers would fall in this category) or through signs posted for this express purpose.
2. Assuming an improper posture
   Improper posture accounts for a massive amount of time off work each year. A clear understanding of the proper way to lift, to twist, to sit, to stand, etc… is a crucial part of reducing these injuries.

   The Fix:

   It is beyond the scope of this particular posting to do an in-depth training on the proper postures for the various jobs and conditions present in the workplace. To get some help in this area, simply click on the “Ergonomics” section of this blog in the categories section to the right.

   

   You will find a “ton” of information relating to ergonomic awareness and training.

Ergonomic Tip of the Week # 50

Cell phone or blackberry text messaging try using the tip of a pencil to give some relief to your thumbs.

The ergonomic tip of the day is provided by Ken Oswald at SafetyCommunity.com