There is potential in ergonomics – and probably any scientific discipline – that so much research is done, and so many articles are published, that key ones can get lost in the noise. A paper I recently ‘rediscovered’ from Ergonomics in 2009 is a good example. An article By S M McGill, 'Evolving Ergonomics?' [...]
Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors launches Mobile Working Guidance Musculoskeletal risks associated with mobile devices. As much as it seems like a hot topic when it’s brought up, interesting views or research pop up, statistics are flagged up, but we – as a discipline or collective of professionals – seem to move [...]
Homeworking is still on the increase – driven by increasing demands for a better work life balance, and many businesses looking to cut real estate costs by reducing the physical footprint of their office. Based on the statistics in a recent employment survey, 44% of UK staff now do some form of flexible [...]
A big workplace issue Headaches at work is an issue that comes up surprisingly often – not surprising given that headache disorders cost the UK an estimated £5 to £7 billion per year and 25 million working days lost (and those costs are just relating to diagnosed headache disorders, there is a huge additional [...]
The facts of life - birth, death, taxes - and mistakes! Errors, mistakes and violations play a key part in most workplace incidents. According to an SHP report, around 90% of incident reports indicate human failure is to blame. But what are the factors that underlie these errors and violations, and why do investigations [...]
On 1st September this year, BSI launched a new standard – BS ISO 27500 ‘The human-centred organisation – Rationale and general principles’. BS ISO 27500 is a high-level goal-setting standard and it sets out 7 key principles that characterize a human-centred organisation. The standard is aimed squarely at executive board members and senior management, [...]
Making the most of sit-stand working Sit-stand desks offer real health benefits, but to maximise their benefits they need careful introduction to workplaces. This article looks at how to make the most of sit-stand working, with reference to recent research, and we offer advice on making a switch to sit-stand working. Health issues linked [...]
HSE has now published it’s much anticipated push-pull ‘MAC style’ risk assessment tool. To help with use of the RAPP we have developed an Excel workbook version. The workbook provides you with three tabs which you can use for different push-pull tasks, to start you off. Click here to download our RAPP excel file v1_2. [...]
A simple and easy to use tool for identifying the most optimal task/job rotations Task rotation as a musculoskeletal risk control measure is most effective when consecutive tasks don’t share the same risk factors. To help you plan and achieve this arrangement, the tool we have designed (link below) allows you to enter your [...]
This September HSE launched a much-anticipated new manual handling risk assessment tool – RAPP – Risk Assessment of Pushing and Pulling. Ever since the MAC (HSE's Manual Handling Assessment Chart) was launched some years ago, industry and Inspectors have been asking for something similar to cover pushing and pulling activities, now finally it has arrived. [...]
