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Safety Strategies
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Designing an Ergonomics Program Part II: Intervention and Implementation

June 25, 2024
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Implementing effective ergonomic interventions requires a thoughtful approach, integrating multiple strategies tailored to organizational needs and challenges. By prioritizing worker safety and involvement, businesses can not only mitigate ergonomic risks but also foster a culture of continuous improvement and well-being. In our latest discussion, we delved into various strategies and considerations crucial for developing and implementing ergonomic solutions.

In our previous session, we laid the groundwork for establishing a successful ergonomics program. This included setting clear goals, identifying stakeholders, and understanding risk identification strategies. If you missed it, catch up on the recording on our TuMeke blog.

Using the Hierarchy of Controls

When examining and developing interventions or solutions, consider the Hierarchy of Controls. It is a systematic framework that categorizes controls from the most effective to the least effective: 

  1. Elimination: Remove the risk entirely.
  2. Substitution: Replace the risk with something less hazardous.
  3. Engineering Controls: Isolate or redesigns the job or process to reduce the hazard.
  4. Administrative Controls: Change the way people work or the length of time they are exposed to the hazard. Examples include training, job rotation, rest breaks, and adjusting processes. 
  5. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Protect the worker from the hazard with personal protective equipment.

Choosing the Right Intervention

Each control type has its advantages and challenges, influencing their feasibility and effectiveness in different contexts. Consider the task faced by scientists researching food alternatives, such as plant-based substitutes for meat. These substitutes must match or exceed the taste of meat while maintaining or reducing costs. Similarly, the effectiveness of ergonomic controls hinges on feasibility and their ability to be implemented without compromising productivity or introducing additional risks.

When deciding on interventions, considerations such as cost, implementation time, and impact on productivity come into play. While elimination, substitution, and engineering controls are more effective at reducing risk, they often require significant resources and coordination. These controls are easier to implement during the design phase, particularly when your organization is actively engaged in the process of redesigning or upgrading elements of the workplace. If you don’t have the resources to implement these controls now, you can recommend them for future design.

Administrative controls and PPE can be implemented more swiftly and initially at lower costs. However, over time they can be costly to maintain and their impact relies largely on employee behavior. Additionally, PPE controls have limited impact when addressing ergonomic concerns and can also introduce new risk factors. For example, gloves can reduce risk factors associated with cold temperatures but they can also make it harder to grip an object.

The Importance of Training

Training plays a critical role in ergonomic interventions, especially when administrative controls are the primary solution. Educating employees about ergonomic risks, proper work practices, and your organization’s policies and procedures empowers them to be proactive about their own health. More advanced training in risk identification can go a step further and equip designated personnel to become advocates for ergonomic improvements within their teams.

Participatory Ergonomics

The involvement of the correct stakeholders is crucial to the success of your ergonomics program.  Participatory ergonomics is a widely recognized method that involves workers in the design and improvement of their workstations. This not only taps into frontline knowledge but also enhances ownership and acceptance of changes, thereby increasing the likelihood of sustained success.

Examples of participatory ergonomics initiatives vary, including consultative approaches where workers provide input but lack formal decision-making authority. A more substantive approach can involve job enrichment for workers, work groups, and steering committees. In these scenarios, trained employees have a more significant impact on decision makers, influencing which solutions are ultimately implemented.

Implementing Solutions

A phased implementation approach is recommended, starting with immediate recommendations (often administrative or PPE solutions), followed by intermediate and long-term solutions (typically elimination or engineering controls). Early successes and quick wins can help build confidence in your ergonomics program. For example immediate administrative and PPE controls that can be implemented to mitigate contact stress from sharp corners include training on proper body positioning and applying padding to sharp edges. If this approach is effective, you can advocate for a more effective long-term solution like purchasing workstations with rounded corners.

Once you’ve identified a solution, piloting the interventions and collecting feedback allows for adjustments before full-scale implementation, ensuring effectiveness and acceptance. To ensure high-quality feedback, it is essential to clearly specify the desired type of feedback. It is recommended to offer training and utilize evaluation checklists tailored to the specific risk factors targeted for reduction. Regular evaluation allows for adjustments and improvements over time.

Next Steps and Future Webinar

Whether you’re starting an ergonomics program from scratch, mid-process, or refining an existing one, evaluating the impact of your program is essential. Future topics will cover monitoring results and evaluating program effectiveness.

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