Ergo Team Development

BodyLogic will facilitate the entire process, starting with the formation and composition of the team, through targeted ergonomic education, and putting in place robust structures and procedures. The team will learn how to recognize ergonomic hazards in the work place, develop solutions, present the alternatives to the decision makers, and help with implementation. The team will also be responsible for the ongoing raising of awareness of ergonomic safety in the plant. Periodic follow-up is strongly encouraged to maintain momentum generated by the initial training, train new members as needed, and assist in problem solving when additional expertise is required.

Office Ergonomics

• BodyLogic will provide “brown bag” training classes to raise the awareness of ergonomic hazards in the work place. Participants will learn self-help techniques for work place improvement and injury prevention.
• Detailed individual work station evaluations will solve the underlying causes of repeated or ongoing injury associated with a particular person or task, and decrease employee exposure to, and risk of, overuse injury.
• BodyLogic will consult with procurement staff to ensure the purchase of employee friendly furniture and accessories. Thoughtful purchases are a cost effective, pro-active strategy to help maintain employee health. The correct choices will significantly help in the lowering of risk exposure. The cost of such purchases need not be high, and will be far lower than the cost of any retrofits.
• The Ergonomics Audit. This is a day long ergonomic safety inventory for a company that includes: a walk through of the physical site, interviews with employees, perception of corporate safety culture, and analysis of company injury and absentee records. The feedback to the company will provide a starting point for future ergonomic safety efforts. Recommendations may include (but are not limited to) changes to the physical environment, employee training, and organizational strategies. Solutions will be presented as completely as possible.

Industrial Ergonomics

• BodyLogic will perform a detailed ergonomic analysis of specific high risk tasks or processes. The analysis will result in a range of possible solutions designed to minimize future risk to employees during the performance of the job. Recommendations may include engineering changes to the physical site, updating administrative policies and individual work practices.
• An ergonomics program should be integrated into the company's Health and Safety program. A comprehensive ergonomics program will include Physical Demands Analysis (PDA) of all positions for which there is a written job description. BodyLogic will perform the requested PDA’s in the manner described below, but will also help incorporate the PDA’s into the existing safety program, and make suggestions to help increase the effectiveness of the overall Health and Safety program.
• A PDA is a quantitative examination of the physical demands of the duties of a specific job or position. A PDA will allow the organization to better understand the interaction between the worker and their specific working environment. Many functions may be served by a PDA, and these may include:
  • To create, or update, an accurate and complete job description
• Identify ergonomic issues existing within current jobs or tasks
• Provide medical professionals (physicians, rehabilitation specialists, case managers) with guidelines for an employee's safe return to work
• Identify areas that may benefit from ergonomic re-engineering
• Identify work practices that could be modified
• Help establish pre-placement screening for job applicants to ensure new hires are a good fit for the position
• Create a data base of positions that:
  • may be described as “light duty” for the purposes of a return to work program
  • could be modified to fall into the “light duty” category
• Facilitate the return to work of workers injured on the job to safe and productive positions

The results of a PDA may assist in developing solutions which will: reduce injuries and discomfort on the job, facilitate early return to work, reduce the chance of re-injury on the job, improve worker satisfaction, reduce errors, and improve quality. Using ergonomic techniques, like PDA’s, allows for a better and safer match between a workers’ (or an injured workers’) capabilities and the demands of the job.

Experience has shown a greater acceptance and cooperation in the process and subsequent use of PDA’s (for applicant screening, early return to work, modified duty , and so on) if all interested parties are involved from the beginning of the process. This includes management, supervisors and unions.