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Scaling Ergonomics: From the Plant Floor to the Corporate Playbook
Episode 9: Show Notes
How do you scale ergonomics across diverse facilities without losing consistency, flexibility, or impact? In today’s episode, Dr. Matt Jeffs welcomes David Brodie to discuss how the field has evolved from pencil-and-paper methods to advanced digital tools and why it matters now more than ever. David is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE) with over 27 years of experience in consulting and corporate roles. He is currently the Lead Ergonomist at Cargill, where he helps develop a comprehensive ergonomics strategy for the company’s vast and varied operational landscape.
David shares how his career has evolved alongside the profession and how the focus has shifted from technical and jargon-filled assessment outputs to simplified and easy-to-understand reports. They delve into the challenges and opportunities of driving ergonomics at scale, how David supports a range of facilities with limited internal resources, and how his team uses data to identify risk and create real, measurable impact. He also provides insight into the value of data for solving problems, what to consider when leveraging emerging technology, how to foster buy-in throughout the company, the gap between data and decisions, and how to build a modern ergonomics program that drives lasting change. Tune in now!
Key Points From This Episode:
[00:00] Introducing David Brodie and how ergonomics tools and methods have evolved.
David reflects on how ergonomics has shifted from manual methods to digital approaches for injury and exposure monitoring and explains why constantly innovating is essential for the field.
[04:12] How communication between technical experts and operation teams has changed.
Explore how difficult it can be to bridge the communication gap between technical experts and operations teams and why he thinks simplifying risk assessment outputs for non-experts to make them more accessible is key.
[06:27] Cognitive bandwidth and the burden of front-end data collection.
Learn how early ergonomics assessments required massive upfront cognitive and technical investment and how this derailed momentum before solutions could even be considered. They also discuss how this has improved through optimizing ergonomic assessment outputs.
[10:38] David’s approach to scaling with structure and flexibility across diverse sites.
David explains how he creates standardized structures for data collection while giving individual sites the flexibility to implement solutions suited to their unique needs across Cargill’s entire range of operations.
[15:13] Technology forward thinking in ergonomics and what to consider.
Find out how emerging technologies fit into the future of ergonomics in workplace settings. David also shares examples of how technology, like computer vision, has enabled remote assessments and explains how this reduces costs and expands their operational reach.
[20:31] Explore how to turn ergonomic insights into actionable strategies.
Unpack the common mistakes people make when implementing digital solutions, key considerations regarding data collection, and why focusing on high-risk jobs and implementing effective controls is essential.
[24:34] How David fosters collaboration and buy-in throughout the company.
Uncover how open, honest, and informative communication at all levels of the company creates a holistic ergonomics framework relevant to everyone and how he ensures the implementation of technology is functional and scalable.
[29:40] Framing ergonomics in terms of ROI.
David talks about aligning ergonomic recommendations with company-specific ROI criteria and how this can differ from company to company. Find out how presenting risk data credibly and targeting key investments leads to a measurable impact.
[32:52] Predictive ergonomics and the future of AI.
Hear why David believes AI will help integrate multivariate data and shift ergonomics from reactive snapshots to predictive, real-time risk mitigation and root ergonomics deeper into operational strategy.
Quotes:
“The big evolution [was] starting to use technology that allowed [ergonomists] to start looking at cumulative exposure over longer periods of time versus the single snapshots we had been doing for years.” — David Brodie [0:02:46]
“If you have good data to help make decisions but then get to those meetings where you are making decisions on how to reduce risk can change jobs.” — David Brodie [0:07:24]
“With any technology, what you are trying to understand is what does it do and how does it fit within the structure that you have created.” — David Brodie [0:15:16]
“Before you implement any technology you should know what you are doing with the data beforehand.” — David Brodie [0:20:31]
Longer Quotes:
“The level of hazards in all of [Cargill’s] different environments is dramatically different. So how much effort we have to put into each [plant] is different, how much time we have to put in, how much you expect from each of those plants is all different, and you just have to flexible [enough] for that and make sure your process can handle it.” — David Brodie [0:14:02]
“You have to pick your arguments and that argument has to be based on data and proper analysis of the risk. Then you can say, ‘Hey, I am the person at the plant, [and] when I tell you this is high risk it means I have done this, this, and this, and I can show you that there is a clear problem and my solution will eliminate these things.’” — David Brodie [0:31:15]
Links & Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
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Scaling Ergonomics: From the Plant Floor to the Corporate Playbook
Episode 9: Show Notes
How do you scale ergonomics across diverse facilities without losing consistency, flexibility, or impact? In today’s episode, Dr. Matt Jeffs welcomes David Brodie to discuss how the field has evolved from pencil-and-paper methods to advanced digital tools and why it matters now more than ever. David is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE) with over 27 years of experience in consulting and corporate roles. He is currently the Lead Ergonomist at Cargill, where he helps develop a comprehensive ergonomics strategy for the company’s vast and varied operational landscape.
David shares how his career has evolved alongside the profession and how the focus has shifted from technical and jargon-filled assessment outputs to simplified and easy-to-understand reports. They delve into the challenges and opportunities of driving ergonomics at scale, how David supports a range of facilities with limited internal resources, and how his team uses data to identify risk and create real, measurable impact. He also provides insight into the value of data for solving problems, what to consider when leveraging emerging technology, how to foster buy-in throughout the company, the gap between data and decisions, and how to build a modern ergonomics program that drives lasting change. Tune in now!
Key Points From This Episode:
[00:00] Introducing David Brodie and how ergonomics tools and methods have evolved.
David reflects on how ergonomics has shifted from manual methods to digital approaches for injury and exposure monitoring and explains why constantly innovating is essential for the field.
[04:12] How communication between technical experts and operation teams has changed.
Explore how difficult it can be to bridge the communication gap between technical experts and operations teams and why he thinks simplifying risk assessment outputs for non-experts to make them more accessible is key.
[06:27] Cognitive bandwidth and the burden of front-end data collection.
Learn how early ergonomics assessments required massive upfront cognitive and technical investment and how this derailed momentum before solutions could even be considered. They also discuss how this has improved through optimizing ergonomic assessment outputs.
[10:38] David’s approach to scaling with structure and flexibility across diverse sites.
David explains how he creates standardized structures for data collection while giving individual sites the flexibility to implement solutions suited to their unique needs across Cargill’s entire range of operations.
[15:13] Technology forward thinking in ergonomics and what to consider.
Find out how emerging technologies fit into the future of ergonomics in workplace settings. David also shares examples of how technology, like computer vision, has enabled remote assessments and explains how this reduces costs and expands their operational reach.
[20:31] Explore how to turn ergonomic insights into actionable strategies.
Unpack the common mistakes people make when implementing digital solutions, key considerations regarding data collection, and why focusing on high-risk jobs and implementing effective controls is essential.
[24:34] How David fosters collaboration and buy-in throughout the company.
Uncover how open, honest, and informative communication at all levels of the company creates a holistic ergonomics framework relevant to everyone and how he ensures the implementation of technology is functional and scalable.
[29:40] Framing ergonomics in terms of ROI.
David talks about aligning ergonomic recommendations with company-specific ROI criteria and how this can differ from company to company. Find out how presenting risk data credibly and targeting key investments leads to a measurable impact.
[32:52] Predictive ergonomics and the future of AI.
Hear why David believes AI will help integrate multivariate data and shift ergonomics from reactive snapshots to predictive, real-time risk mitigation and root ergonomics deeper into operational strategy.
Quotes:
“The big evolution [was] starting to use technology that allowed [ergonomists] to start looking at cumulative exposure over longer periods of time versus the single snapshots we had been doing for years.” — David Brodie [0:02:46]
“If you have good data to help make decisions but then get to those meetings where you are making decisions on how to reduce risk can change jobs.” — David Brodie [0:07:24]
“With any technology, what you are trying to understand is what does it do and how does it fit within the structure that you have created.” — David Brodie [0:15:16]
“Before you implement any technology you should know what you are doing with the data beforehand.” — David Brodie [0:20:31]
Longer Quotes:
“The level of hazards in all of [Cargill’s] different environments is dramatically different. So how much effort we have to put into each [plant] is different, how much time we have to put in, how much you expect from each of those plants is all different, and you just have to flexible [enough] for that and make sure your process can handle it.” — David Brodie [0:14:02]
“You have to pick your arguments and that argument has to be based on data and proper analysis of the risk. Then you can say, ‘Hey, I am the person at the plant, [and] when I tell you this is high risk it means I have done this, this, and this, and I can show you that there is a clear problem and my solution will eliminate these things.’” — David Brodie [0:31:15]
Links & Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode: