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Message From the President
A topic that you hear a lot about these days is wellness, wellness programs, etc. So, what is wellness, and how does ergonomics play a role in it? Merriam Webster defines wellness as "the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal." When you think of wellness programs, you generally think of nutrition programs, fitness/exercise programs, smoking cessation programs, monitoring of cholesterol/blood pressure, etc. In general, wellness programs tend to focus on the person and not the work environment but when you're thinking of the well-being of the worker, the work environment and the risks people are exposed to need to be considered as well. NIOSH's Total Worker Health® discusses how work-related safety and health hazards affect worker well-being and promote a variety of types of research and programs to improve both while the WELL Building Standard takes the conversation in a different direction. It looks at the environment and hopes to promote the idea of building healthy buildings for workers to work in. It has requirements for many components, such as: air quality, nourishment, thermal comfort, and movement - which includes both visual and physical ergonomics.
Thus, the discussion of wellness tends to be very broad and inclusive of many disciplines - of which ergonomics should be one of them. When we think about trying to define ergonomics, there are many definitions, so let's just consider how the International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics (or human factors) as "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." Which means as ergonomists, we have the ability to design risks out of jobs/workstations, and to make sure that equipment and furniture purchased to be utilized in the work environment are designed with ergonomic principles. In this way, we can ensure that workers are not exposed to risks that could cause them injuries/illnesses. So, from my perspective, while you can have an ergonomics program without a wellness program, you can't have a wellness program without including ergonomics in it. What are your thoughts? Check out IISE Connect and let us hear from you!
As always, we welcome your suggestions and your continued efforts to get the word out about the Society by telling your friends and colleagues about AES.
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AES Member Spotlight - Mike Lampl
Mike Lampl is Research Director at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC), within its Division of Safety & Hygiene. He has worked in the ergonomics and occupational safety & health profession for over 25 years. At the BWC, Mike supports research activities to examine the agency's injury data to better understand injury trends. This effort leads to more-educated employers and employees and helps to prioritize BWC efforts. Mike also is involved in administering the
Ohio Occupational Safety and Health Research Program, in which Ohio colleges and universities compete for research funding aimed at improving occupational safety & health, productivity, and competitiveness of Ohio's workforce. The goal of this program is to develop and disseminate new and innovative knowledge, interventions, recommendations, and technologies.
Increasing ergonomics education has been one of Mike's career achievements. He estimates having trained more than 100 graduate students in ergonomics over the past 15 years. This has allowed them to then apply this knowledge and make ergonomics improvements in their jobs after graduation. Mike is also very proud of his role in other BWC initiatives, including hosting the annual Ohio Safety Congress, sponsoring local safety councils, and providing grants to companies for equipment aimed to improve workplace safety and ergonomics. These activities positively impact thousands of employees each year.
Mike advocates the importance of networking within the ergonomics community and being a good listener for those individuals who need assistance. He believes these efforts will help to determine the best solutions for workplace safety and other improvements.
Mike and his wife are parents to an 11 year old daughter and an eight year old son. In his off-time, Mike also enjoys traveling and playing tennis.
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Did You Know AES Members Have FREE On Line Access to the Taylor & Francis IISE Journal?
Quarterly issues of
IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors
keep you in the know. To access your on line journal
please
ADD
[email protected]
to your safe-senders email list. You will receive an email from this address by week 2/15/2019 and it will instruct you how to log on and start taking advantage of this benefit.
Additionally, if AES members have questions or need any assistance for journal access they can email the same address above!
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Managing Change After Ergonomics Interventions - Part 1: Building Relationships and Trust
Those involved in ergonomics projects often invest considerable effort on the front end - investigating why an issue arose, conducting assessments, evaluating improvement options, and determining the best solutions for moving forward. Unfortunately, those impacted by the implemented intervention may be unhappy with the work change or be suspicious of its supposed benefits. A study led by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School found that less than half of major corporate reengineering projects implemented within Fortune 1000 companies were successful. So, why the high failure rate?
Over the next several months, this newsletter will profile various reasons why ergonomics-related changes may be met with resistance within an organization. These articles also will provide some guidance on how to address and overcome this reluctance to change.
This month's topic addresses relationships and trust.
Building positive relationships in a corporate environment, including trust between colleagues, is vital. In fact, it has been estimated that organizations with an outstanding culture and exceptional leaders are able to implement changes 30% to 50% more quickly than those not having these qualities. Without positive relationships and trust, ergonomics improvement decisions are likely to be met with skepticism and, as a result, be less effective. It is difficult to build a culture of change adoption without them.
Business leaders at Quinnipiac University have identified eight qualities that leaders need to build trust amongst a team:
- Keep Commitments, by making sure that actions are followed through completely.
- Tell the Truth, regardless of how difficult or upsetting it may be to others.
- Admit to Mistakes, as individuals generally admire openness.
- Honor Confidences, by keeping conversations private.
- Show Respect, by simply treating others politely.
- Be a Model of Integrity, by behaving in a manner you expect of others.
- Be Empathetic but Not Sympathetic, which conveys an understanding of another's situation but does not imply superiority.
- Make Sure to Under-Promise and Over-Deliver, because continually exceeding one's expectations is viewed admirably.
So, consider how you may be able to improve your leadership skills by addressing one or more of these qualities. This can help improve trust within your organization and ensure that your ergonomics improvement efforts produce the results you expect.
Next Month
- Part 2: Overcoming Fear and Addressing Conflict
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The Impact of Color in Ergonomics Design
As ergonomists we are tasked with considering every aspect of our designs that can have an impact on the user - be it physiological, psychological, or emotional. One such design element that can affect all three levels is the use of color. Color is more than an aesthetic afterthought. It is critical for effectively conveying or coding information users will need to discern messages, detect differences, and act appropriately. And its use within offices and workspaces can influence, positively or negatively, the visual demands on workers or their mood. Reflect on these points when considering color for your process, product, or office designs:
- According to the National Eye Institute, approximately 8% of men and 0.5% of women have a color vision deficiency, or are colorblind. Many with colorblindness are not aware they perceive color differently from others. Red-Green colorblindness is the most common where, depending on the type of cone photopigment abnormality, reds can appear green or black.
- Warm colors such as red, orange, or yellow have longer light wavelengths and are more perceptible than cooler colors (blue and green).
- Certain color contrasts and combinations can have unintended effects. Combining vivid colors can initially provide an attention grabbing result but over time the color combination can give an illusion of pulsing or shaking which can be very distracting or make the user uncomfortable.
- Colors can convey different meanings to different people due to associations learned through repeated pairings with varying experiences or messages (e.g., red STOP sign), or from color association through cultural stereotypes. A recent study examining cultural color associations found "lower rates of color-to-meaning associations for participants from India in comparison with US participants" which was consistent with earlier studies comparing Chinese participants to those in the US.
- Color choices in office décor have been shown to drive behavior and emotions. Reds draw attention, oranges and yellows are often associated with innovation and are seen as "mood lifters", blues can bring a sense of tranquility, while greens can bring a sense of nature into an office, and neutrals (whites, browns) can add depth to a space. However, monochromatic color schemes can lead to distraction or boredom.
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Being Left-Handed in a Right-Handed World
Left-handed individuals comprise only about 10-15% of the population. So, it's no surprise that we live in a world made more convenient for those who are right-hand dominant. Think that's a myth? Think again. Where is the number pad on a keyboard or the shutter button on a camera? On what side of the credit card machine do you swipe your card? Where is the flap opening on your jeans? The answers, of course, are all
right. These designs may simply impose minor inconveniences for lefties. However, products, equipment, and workstations that do not consider left-handed users may result in reduced work productivity or quality or increase physical discomfort or risk of cumulative trauma. There is some evidence to support this. The
American Journal of Public Health
found that left-handed people were nearly twice as likely to report an injury requiring medical attention than those right-handed.
So, how might we account for handedness in work design? Consider these options:
- Put yourself in the place of a left-handed employee and think through a job process. Are there improvements or process changes that could be made that would help one do the job, regardless of hand use?
- Seek feedback from left-handed employees about particular work functions they may routinely find problematic. Then, ask them how the job could be modified to account for all users.
- Look for tools and equipment that can be used equally by either hand. Also, take advantage of the increased commercial availability of products being designed for either hand, and seek suppliers that offer more variety in their products' designs.
So, keep your chin up, lefties. Your handedness doe provide some advantages. Information published in Newsweek and the Perceptual and Motor Skills journal have found left-handed athletes posses a slight advantage in sports such as baseball and tennis, because their movements tend to be less-predictable. And, if you have political aspirations, consider that four of the last eight US presidents have been left-handed.
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A Bit of Ergonomics History
Some believe that ergonomics is a relatively new discipline. In fact, the first known use of term has been traced back over 160 years. Wojciech Jastrzębowski, considered to be one of the fathers of ergonomics, published, An Outline of Ergonomics, Or The Science of Work, Based on the Truths Taken from the Science of Nature, in his native Polish in 1857. Jastrzębowski was a well-respected inventor, educator, and naturalist. He excelled academically in many scientific fields and eventually became a professor of botany, physics, and horticulture.
Jastrzębowski derived the term ergonomics from the Greek ergon (work) and nomos (principle or law), and much of his 19th century writings are still relevant today. For example, he defined two main disciplines within ergonomics - the science of useful work ("which brings improvement or is commendable, by which we mean the good use of Man's forces and faculties") and the science of harmful work (that which "brings deterioration, and discreditable work"). His focus, however, was on useful work, for which he specified four advantages or benefits. These were:
- Property - An asset or an external good;
- Ability - The skill to perform work more easily and with growing satisfaction;
- Perfection - The outcome of work and the potential for growth and development; and
- Felicity - The "ultimate and supreme contentment" received from the work.
Jastrzębowski clearly took a holistic approach to ergonomics. He considered the proper application of forces to be beneficial to one's physical, mental, and spiritual health. Jastrzębowski also drew several analogies between ergonomics and plants, due to his botanical background. For example, he stated that the benefits of work, "shall be bound to render their fruit unto us, all the more bounteously the more forces there are contributing to its achievement."
Wojciech Jastrzębowski was a visionary. He recognized that work is a fact of life, but how it is designed can either reap tremendous rewards or greatly diminish abundance, be it physical or emotional. This philosophy remains true to this day.
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Registration now open for the 22nd Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference
Join us for innovation, exploration and opportunities at the 2019 Applied Ergonomics Conference (AEC) taking place March 25-28, 2019, in New Orleans. Gain exposure to the latest developments, learn from industry leaders and connect with colleagues at your top industry event of the year.
Register now.
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New Opportunities This Year for AEC Conference Attendees
2. We have added a city tour on Monday. In the past - we had facility tours - this year we have added a tour of the city - great for folks who have not traveled to NOLA before and also for those who want to see something besides Bourbon Street.
https://www.iise.org/AEC/details.aspx?id=10078
Note: This does require an additional fee - and that fee includes a 2 ½ cruise on the Creole Queen - and a dinner buffet with great jazz music - plus a great view of the city!
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AES builds a stronger global community for the applied ergonomics profession. Members of AES have the unique opportunity to influence the greater conversations around applied ergonomics as an important facet of the industrial and systems engineering industry. Join professionals and academics from fields including ergonomics, healthcare, safety, human resources, risk management and more to pioneer innovation and enhance the skills and effectiveness of the greater ergonomics profession.
AES corporate and university partners gain even more, by providing cost-effective access to multiple team members and demonstrating their commitment and leadership within the field.
Plus, corporate partners receive additional benefits too - and the more members you include, the more you save! Learn more here -
https://www.iise.org/aes/partnership
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