Ergonomics awareness training for workplace design engineers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bobick, Thomas G. ; Ridyard DT ; Starkman BS
• Description:
  An ergonomically based awareness training program for workplace design engineers was described. The purpose of the program, which was developed for the facilities and processing departments of Merck and Company, Incorporated, West Point, Pennsylvania was to provide its engineers with a practical working knowledge of the principles of ergonomic job design. The main objective of the program was to ensure that these principles were used by design engineers to eliminate risk factors associated with back injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other cumulative trauma disorders from the workplace. The program consisted of a 3 hour training session in which lectures with slides and demonstrations by a certified industrial hygienist examined ergonomic hazards associated with repetitive hand and wrist activities, such as container labeling and inspection and using poorly designed tools. After the session the attendees were given checklists to use while designing new facilities, process work areas, and job tasks. The authors note that the engineers at the facility are currently using the checklists. Feedback from the engineers 6 months after the training program revealed that the checklists are an effective method for communicating ergonomic concepts in a clear and concise format. They recommend that basic ergonomic and human factor concepts be incorporated into designs for new facilities, processes, work areas, or job tasks. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Pharmacies Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Back-injuries Health-protection Industrial-education NIOSH-Author Pharmaceutical-industry Work-analysis
• ISSN:
  1047-322X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  5
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00197464
• Citation:
  Appl Occup Environ Hyg 1990 Nov; 5(11):771-781
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b2b28930326bf56621369cab6f37155ee37234704b898b1eab9b68029aa1a2810c11a893adf7ca5f071064bde3067fc6924530057e86da9f60f5314a5161e3d0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/204635/cdc_204635_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.46 MB ]