No Injuries on the Job

Ergonomics

Sketch by me of one of the
posters we put up

Every Tuesday, twice a day, I go to my job as a student worker on my college campus. The office I work at is a resource for the student organizations we have and plays a big part in any event hosted by the school, whether it be putting out posters to promote events or encouraging people to vote. Whenever there is not a task to be completed, we have the opportunity to work on homework; however, those opportunities rarely occur because we always have tasks, including lifting heavy boxes filled with t-shirts to sort and carrying ginormous boxes across campus for an event. Every time I complete a task for the resource center, ergonomics goes into effect.

Ergonomics is simply how we work and move. According to an article by Anil Mital and Steven Scheer, ergonomics aims to do the following:

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• "Eliminate injuries"
• "Minimize fatigue and overexertion"
• "Minimize absenteeism and labor force turnover"
• "Improve quality and quantity of output"
• "Minimize lost time and costs associated with injuries and accidents"
• "Maximize safety, efficiency, comfort, and productivity"

Often, ergonomic assessments are held by employment to prevent and/or control injuries and illnesses on the job. When an injury or illness is taken place at work, a company loses money; no one likes losing money.

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One of the most common aforementioned ergonomic assessments is the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). The REBA evaluates the entire body and any risks associated with job tasks. While one completes a task, a score is being generated, and the generated score represents the level of Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) risk. 

Photo taken by me of my
inefficient work clothing

Usually, I wear flat, comfortable shoes at work to reduce my MSD risk. However, this past week, I forgot I decided to work on Thursday to make up for lost hours and wore bell bottoms and wedges with a two-inch heel to work. One of the tasks I had to complete was walking across campus to deliver a heavy vase of flowers. Not only was I wearing the wrong shoes and pants that were too long, but it was also raining outside, which made my job more difficult. If someone were to complete a REBA of me while I was completing that task, I probably would have had a score over eleven. My clothing choices negatively affected how I moved and worked while trying to complete a task.

Like anthropometrics, it is essential for designers to initially consider ergonomics when designing any kind of space for a client and end user, whether it be health care or residential and especially commercial. The previously mentioned article stated that in the workplace "The overall goal of ergonomics is to maximize workers' capabilities while, concurrently, ensuring their safety, comfort, efficiency, and effectiveness." The safety of workers and how one would operate the space, especially while working, is important. No one wants to deal with the consequences of an injury or illness caused on the job by poor ergonomic consideration.

References:

Ergonomics

2017 National Ergonomics Month

A Step-by-Step Guide to the REBA Assessment Tool

Definition of Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD)