ERGON

OMICS Submitted by:

MD. HASIBUR RAHMAN KHAN
Student ID: 16241030
Section: B

Submitted to:
Lec. Sanzida Farhana Oishe
Bangladesh University Of Professionals
**What is Ergonomics?

>> Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of
interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory,
principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system
performance.

Ergonomic Risk Factors

There are three primary ergonomic risk factors.

1. High task repetition: Many work tasks and cycles are repetitive in nature, and are frequently
controlled by hourly or daily production targets and work processes. High task repetition, when
combined with other risks factors such high force and/or awkward postures, can contribute to the
formation of MSD. A job is considered highly repetitive if the cycle time is 30 seconds or less.

2. Forceful exertions: Many work tasks require high force loads on the human body. Muscle effort
increases in response to high force requirements, increasing associated fatigue which can lead to MSD.

3. Repetitive or sustained awkward postures: Awkward postures place excessive force on joints and
overload the muscles and tendons around the effected joint. Joints of the body are most efficient when
they operate closest to the mid-range motion of the joint. Risk of MSD is increased when joints are
worked outside of this mid-range repetitively or for sustained periods of time without adequate
recovery time.

Exposure to these workplace risk factors puts workers at a higher level of MSD risk. It’s common sense:
high task repetition, forceful exertions and repetitive/sustained awkward postures fatigue the worker’s
body beyond their ability to recover, leading to a musculoskeletal imbalance and eventually an MSD.

The goal of the ergonomics improvement process is to identify ergonomic risk factors and put control
measures in place to reduce or eliminate ergonomic risk factors altogether.
Benefits of a Workplace Ergonomics Process

Here are five of the proven benefits of a strong workplace ergonomics process:

1. Ergonomics reduces costs: By systematically reducing ergonomic risk factors, you can prevent costly
MSDs. With approximately $1 out of every $3 in workers compensation costs attributed to MSDs, this
represents an opportunity for significant cost savings. Also, don’t forget that indirect costs can be up to
twenty times the direct cost of an injury.

2. Ergonomics improves productivity: The best ergonomic solutions will often improve productivity. By
designing a job to allow for good posture, less exertion, fewer motions and better heights and reaches,
the workstation becomes more efficient.

3. Ergonomics improves quality: Poor ergonomics leads to frustrated and fatigued workers that don’t
do their best work. When the job task is too physically taxing on the worker, they may not perform their
job like they were trained. For example, an employee might not fasten a screw tight enough due to a
high force requirement which could create a product quality issue.

4. Ergonomics improves employee engagement: Employees notice when the company is putting forth
their best efforts to ensure their health and safety. If an employee does not experience fatigue and
discomfort during their workday, it can reduce turnover, decrease absenteeism, improve morale and
increase employee involvement.

5. Ergonomics creates a better safety culture: Ergonomics shows your company’s commitment to safety
and health as a core value. The cumulative effect of the previous four benefits of ergonomics is a
stronger safety culture for your company. Healthy employees are your most valuable asset; creating and
fostering the safety & health culture at your company will lead to better human performance for your
organization.
Workplace Ergonomics – Is it worth the cost?

So is an ergonomics process worth the cost? Yes, absolutely! Not only is ergonomics good for your
business, it’s great for our people. As health & safety professionals, we need to be able to demonstrate
the value of ergonomics to get buy-in for the process.

Good managers consider the following when making decisions:

 Will this increase our revenues?

 Will this decrease our costs?
 Is this the right thing to do?

When considering a workplace ergonomics process, we can answer with an emphatic “YES!” to all three
of these questions.