Tag: Business Ergonomics

Industrial Ergonomics – Adapt Your Workplace to Your Employees to Save Costs

Proper Ergonomics Keep Your Employees Healthy and Happy
Proper Ergonomics Keep Your Employees Healthy and Happy

Not so long ago, companies used standard “one size fits all” equipment that did not allow for personalization to employees. Today, ergonomics are used in most workplaces to identify injury risks and make appropriate adjustments.

Everyday Risk Factors in the Workplace

Muscle strain and fatigue are two common health issues arising from repetitive tasks in both offices and industrial settings. According to Richard Haas, a chiropractor in Mason City, IA, approximately 40 percent of work-related health problems involve neuromuscular skeletal injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

Integration of automation and technology is the primary reason for the increasingly repetitive nature of workplace activities. With many employees spending most of the day sitting at a desk, the resulting muscle stiffness and tension makes them more vulnerable to injury.

Creating Better Working Conditions with Ergonomics

Ergonomic equipment ranges from lumbar cushions for back support to dumpster movers or dumpster pushers that lighten heavy loads. Employees are also being trained in the proper body mechanics of sitting in a desk chair or lifting boxes.

Making the workplace more responsive to the physical needs of your employees generates a number of financial benefits:

• Production levels are higher due to more efficient working conditions and less time off from injuries.

• High costs of insurance, medical claims, time off and other expenses associated with injuries are reduced significantly.

• Positive employee morale creates greater job satisfaction, which in turn can prevent high turnover rates.

Let our battery-powered WasteCaddy dumpster movers from DJ Products provide an ergonomic solution for your employees’ well-being. Visit our website for a live chat with one of our friendly and knowledgeable sales engineers.

How You Stand and Sit is the Basis for Ergonomics

Your skeleton is like the steel framework of a building. It is the core structure to which everything else attaches that provides the basic support system for the muscles, ligaments and tendons that allow your body to move.

You may not realize it, but the alignment of the bones in your skeleton when you stand or sit has a huge impact on muscle comfort, which in turn has a significant impact on job efficiency and productivity. Your body posture while working — how you stand and sit on the job — makes a telling difference in how you feel at the end of the workday and is the basis for the science of ergonomics.

How Posture Affects Work

Being forced to stand or sit in an uncomfortable position while working can stress and tire your muscles. Being forced to overextend or place undue pressure on muscles while lifting, reaching, pulling or pushing as you perform work tasks can likewise stretch and strain muscles.

As discomfort increases and turns to pain, productivity decreases as you compensate to relive the strain on your aching muscles. Without relief, pain can become chronic and lead to temporary or even permanent disability.

Ergonomics Improves Performance

Workers come in all shapes and sizes. Rather than forcing workers to contort their bodies to fit fixed equipment configurations, ergonomically-designed equipment allows equipment to be adjusted to provide optimal working conditions for each individual worker. The result is increased satisfaction and comfort for workers and improved worker efficiency and productivity for employers. It’s a win-win solution!

Visit our website or talk to our sales engineers to find the right ergonomic material handling solutions for your business.