ergonomics – The OM Blog by Heizer, Render, & Munson

OM in the News: The Top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs in America

Every 104 minutes, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says an American worker loses their life on the job. While some of us might consider a bad day at work to be a crashed computer or a long class or meeting, thousands of Americans face life-or-death stakes every day they begin their jobs. From the peaks of skyscraper steel to the depths of the Pacific Northwest forests, here are the 10 most dangerous jobs in the U.S. today, according to Industrial Safety & Hygiene News (Feb, 26, 2026)

1. Logging Workers

Fatality Rate: 98.9 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Contact with objects/equipment (falling trees). The Hazard: Falling trees and heavy machinery

2. Fishing and Hunting Workers

Fatality Rate: 86.9 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Transportation incidents (drowning/capsizing). The Hazard: Drowning and vessel capsizing

3. Roofers

Fatality Rate: 51.8 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Falls to a lower level. The Hazard: Gravity.

4. Refuse & Recyclable Collectors

Fatality Rate: 41.4 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Transportation (struck-by vehicle). The Hazard: Being struck by passing motorists.

5. Aircraft Pilots & Flight Engineers

Fatality Rate: 31.3 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Crashes in small aircraft. The Hazard: Mechanical failure or weather in bush/regional flying

6. Construction Helpers

Fatality Rate: 27.4 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Falls and exposure to harmful substances. The Hazard: “The Fatal Four” (Falls, Struck-by, Caught-in, Electrocution)

7. Heavy & Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers

Fatality Rate: 26.8 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Transportation incidents (roadway collisions). The Hazard: Highway collisions and fatigue

8. Grounds Maintenance Workers

Fatality Rate: 20.5 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Falls and landscaping equipment. The Hazard: Equipment entanglement and heat stroke

9. Agricultural Workers

Fatality Rate: 20.2 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Transportation and contact with machinery. The Hazard: Tractor rollovers and silo entrapment

10. Iron and Steel Workers

Fatality Rate: 19.8 per 100,000 workers. Primary Cause of Death: Falls, slips, and trips. The Hazard: Falls and swinging heavy loads.

As we see, logging is the most dangerous profession by a massive margin. Logging workers are nearly 33 times more likely to die on the job than the average worker. The national average across all jobs is 3.3 per 100,000 workers.

While ” Construction Helpers” are No. 6, the broader construction industry saw the highest total number of deaths (1,032), even if their per-capita rate is lower than loggers. Nearly 11% of fatal falls result from a height of 30 feet or higher.

Classroom discussion questions:

Ergonomics is an important part of job design (see Chapter 10 of your Heizer/Render/Munson text). How could it be used to improve safety in these jobs?
Can the physical environment be changed to make any of the jobs safer?

OM in the News: Is My Computer Setup Ergonomically Correct?

As we discuss in Chapter 10, ergonomics is an important element in Job Design and the Work Environment, so it may be a good time to ask “Is My Computer Setup Ergonomically Correct?”. Proper monitor distance, chair height, desk and even mouse placement all make a difference in work performance and stress on the human anatomy.

The Mayo Clinic offers advice in EHS Today (June 1, 2023) on how to set the proper positioning when using a computer in order to avoid some of the health problems associated with seated work, such as neck and back pain and sore wrists and shoulders. The chair height, equipment spacing and desk posture all make a difference.

First, choose a chair that supports your spine. Adjust the height of the chair so that your feet rest flat on the floor. Or use a footrest so your thighs are parallel to the floor. If the chair has armrests, position them so your arms sit gently on the armrests with your elbows close to your body and your shoulders relaxed.

Second, under the desk, make enough room for your legs and feet. Don’t store items under your desk, as that can shrink the amount of available space and make it hard to sit correctly. If the desk is too low and the desk height can’t be changed, put sturdy boards or blocks under the desk legs to raise it. If the desk is too high and can’t be changed, raise your chair.

Third, put your computer keyboard in front of you so your wrists and forearms are in line and your shoulders are relaxed. If you use a mouse connected to a computer, place it within easy reach, on the same surface as your keyboard. While you are typing, using a computer touchpad, or using a mouse or pointer, keep your wrists straight, your upper arms close to your body, and your hands at or slightly below the level of your elbows.

Finally, place the computer monitor straight in front of you, directly behind your keyboard, about an arm’s length away from your face. The monitor should be no closer to you than 20 inches and no further away than 40 inches. The top of the screen should be at or slightly below eye level.

Classroom discussion questions:

Why is this an OM issue?
Did you make any changes in your computer use after reading this post?

OM in the News: Who Should Jack Up the Car in a Nascar Pit Stop?

The pit crew for Christopher Bell in action at Phoenix Raceway

“There are two ways to win a Nascar race,” writes The Wall Street Journal (March 10-11, 2023). The first is to go faster, when you’re in motion, than anyone else. The second is to spend less time at rest than your opponents, shaving away expensive tenths of seconds sacrificed in pit stops, as we illustrate in Chapter 10’s Global Company Profile.

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has done it both ways—on the track, with star drivers like Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. In the pit, it has brought the business of data analytics to the greasy work of changing tires and refueling cars. JGR’s crews have been either the fastest or second-fastest in Nascar every year since 2014, a span during which the organization has won two Cup Series championships. A month into the 2023 season, three JGR drivers are among the top 10 point earners on the circuit, due largely to the roster of ex-football and baseball players assembled in the pit.

Their ranks include CJ Bailey, a former college running back who has become Nascar’s premier tire carrier, and Caleb Dirks, a former pitching prospect for the Atlanta Braves who now applies his length as a jackman, sprinting out with his hydraulic device and pumping the pitting car airborne. (An experienced pit crew member who works for a top-tier team, by the way, can make around $500,000 per year).

Affixing motion sensors and running JGR’s pit crew through a gamut of high-tech exercises. data analysts logged the fluidity with which they transitioned from one effort to another. A 4-tire pit stop is a frantic 5-man ballet—all tight corridors and heavy equipment, set at breakneck tempo. The difference between a 9.8-second and 10.8-second stop can decide a race and a season.

The analysts isolated biomechanical thresholds that, if met by a prospect, predicted success in a certain role. Prospective tire changers were valued for their baseball hitting background but also for their “arc of hip rotation.” Tire carriers had their relative eccentric force production gauged. One such uncovered gem was Bailey. Their data revealed that he had the precise proportions of upper-body might and nimble footspeed of the ideal carrier. Last season with JGR he was graded as 13.8% more efficient than any other carrier in the sport—the fastest hauler of metal and rubber alive.

Classroom discussion questions:

How do time and motion studies apply to Nascar pit stops?
What methods analysis tools in Chapter 10 can be used to examine pit stop efficiency?

OM in the News: Wearable Technology is Changing Ergonomics

“The future of industrial ergonomics isn’t a person with a clipboard checking workers’ posture,” writes The Wall Street Journal (March 6, 2020). Warehouse operators and manufacturers are now testing wearable technology intended to stave off injuries from repetitive tasks like lifting boxes that can exact a significant toll on workers’ bodies over time. Overexertion in lifting or lowering was one of the most common events leading to occupational injuries.

Companies including Walmart and Toyota are experimenting with sensors that identify when workers engage in risky movements—say, bending their backs without squatting—and prompt them to change their form in real time. The devices also collect data that employers can use to assess how new equipment, tasks or changes in production volume affect worker safety. “It’s not about productivity or pick rates or any of that,” says an Australian exec. “It’s about reducing the chance of people getting hurt.”

Kinetic is a startup whose pager-like sensors clip on to workers’ belts to measure their body mechanics. Document-storage company Iron Mountain began using Kinetic’s devices 3 years ago to reduce at-risk postures that contribute to sprains and strains among warehouse staff and drivers who collect paper for shredding or storage. The technology takes the motion of the wearer’s hip and uses artificial intelligence and algorithms to reconstruct what that person’s body must have done to make it move that way, then determines whether the motion is high risk. Iron Mountain says it has experienced a 45% reduction in at-risk postures with the devise.

Direct observation, which we discuss in Chapter 10, isn’t as precise because it can cause people to alter their movements.

Classroom discussion questions:

Why is ergonomics so important in many jobs?
Some firms are also testing “exoskeletons,” which we have blogged on recently. How do these exosuits differ from the sensor approach?

OM in the News: Are Ruthless Quotas at Amazon Maiming Employees?

Amazon’s famous speed and technological innovation have driven the company’s massive global expansion and a valuation over $800 billion, writes The Atlantic (Nov. 25, 2019). It’s also helped make Amazon the nation’s second-largest private employer. But now the Center for Investigative Reporting has found that the company’s obsession with speed has turned its warehouses into injury mills, finding the rate of serious injuries for Amazon facilities more than double the national industry average: 9.6 serious injuries per 100 full-time workers in 2018, compared with an industry average of 4. Some centers, such as the Eastvale, California warehouse, were especially dangerous, with 422 injuries–more than 4 times the industry average.

The former head of OSHA states: “According to Amazon’s own records, the risk of work injuries at fulfillment centers is alarmingly, unacceptably high. Amazon needs to take a hard look at the facilities where so many workers are being hurt and either redesign the work processes, replace the top managers, or both.”

Many workers spoke with outrage about having been cast aside as damaged goods or sent back to jobs that injured them further. The company does instruct workers on the safe way to move their bodies and handle equipment. But former workers said they had to break the safety rules to keep up. They would jump or stretch to reach a top rack instead of using a stepladder. They would twist and bend over to grab boxes instead of taking time to squat and lift with their legs. They had to, they said, or they would lose their jobs. So they took the risk.

The root of Amazon’s success appears to be the root of its injury problem: the blistering pace of delivering packages to its customers. And during Amazon’s busiest (“peak”) season, employees face the exhaustion of mandatory 12-hour shifts where expectations are precise. Workers have to pick 385 small items or 350 medium items each hour and are expected to meet 100% of this productivity performance standard. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, meanwhile, is focused on customers. “We are ramping up to make our 25th holiday season the best ever—with millions of products available for free 1-day delivery,” he said.

Classroom discussion questions:

What are the ergonomic issues discussed in this article (which we encourage you to read in full)?
What is the solution?

OM in the News: Warehouses Are Tracking Workers’ Every Muscle Movement

Every morning when he goes to work in the freezer room of a warehouse in Pennsylvania, Jack Westley throws on a new piece of equipment to wear, which he attaches to a harness over his shoulders. It’s a black device about the size of a smartphone that tracks his every move. For Westley, work means a full day of carrying boxes as ice slowly forms in his beard. The freezer is a treacherous areas because workers get sloppy when they’re cold. So each time Westley bends too deeply to pick up a box or twists too far to set one down, the device on his chest vibrates to send a warning that his chance of getting hurt is elevated. The device, made by a startup called StrongArm Technologies also sends the information it gathers about Westley to his employer.

“Wearable safety trackers are changing how warehouses handle employee safety, but some are concerned about potential surveillance applications,” reports New Equipment Digest (Nov. 11, 2019). The trackers could supplement existing safety programs by identifying employees who need extra coaching, while also helping single out locations in its operations that should be redesigned to reduce the chances of injury.

Unions worry that employers who begin gathering data on workers for whatever reason will be unable to resist using it against them. Productivity tracking is already widespread throughout the industry—and workers can be fired or punished if their performance dips. The opacity of data-analysis tools can make it difficult for workers to fully understand how much employers can see.

StrongArm acknowledges that concerns about workplace surveillance surround its work, but the company says its products are designed solely to improve safety and found users wearing them suffered 20% to 50% fewer injuries.

Classroom discussion questions:

In this age of ever less privacy, where should the line be drawn? What do you consider a legitimate inquiry about your physical activity?
The warehouse management has an obligation for a safe working environment. What should they (and their insurance company) consider legitimate data?

OM in the News: The Rise of the Exoskeleton

In the weld shop of Toyota’s huge Ontario plant, workers inspect the steel frame of a RAV4. The men raise their arms overhead as they move ultrasonic wands over metal to test the integrity of dozens of welds. Until a few months ago, this task was performed by seated workers wielding hammers and chisels. But the latest RAV4 uses a lighter, stronger steel that requires ultrasonic testing. A new frame arrives every 60 seconds. The prolonged reaching is shoulder-breaking work, the kind that can lead to debilitating injuries and decreased productivity.

But these workers are assisted by exoskeletons, wearable devices made by Levitate Technologies. The upper-body frames use a system of springs, cables and pulleys to transfer weight from the arms to the outside of the hips, easing the strain of overhead work. When a worker raises his arms, the exoskeleton provides a counterweight that makes the arms feel buoyant, as if the upper body is suspended in water. The system gradually releases as the limbs are lowered, allowing the arms to hang unassisted.

Exoskeletons may one day become commonplace on factory floors, construction sites and film sets. Toyota is the first large manufacturer to require the use of exoskeletons, but Ford uses about 100 exoskeletons across 16 plants in 8 countries. BMW has 66 in use at its Spartanburg, S.C., plant, while Boeing will use a couple hundred by mid-year.

There are upper-body, lower-body and full-body models. Most range in price from $4,000-$6,000, weigh 5-10 pounds and require a one-time adjustment to a user’s frame. Factory workers who’ve tried exoskeletons report less back and shoulder pain, and go home at night more active and relaxed. “Ultimately,” writes The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 19-20, 2019), “the hope is that the devices will reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders, which cost employers about $50 billion annually.”

Classroom discussion questions:
1. What is ergonomics and how is this an ergonomic device?

2. What other issues in the work environment can impact performance, safety, and quality of life?

OM in the News: An Airplane Seat that’s Ergonomic?

A coach seat designed for a Singapore Airlines premium economy cabin under construction at the Zodiac Aerospace factory in Gainesville, Texas

Do you ache all over after flying in a coach seat? That could be by design. Airlines have lots of choices when they order seats for their airplanes. Those selections go a long way to determining how comfortable—or uncomfortable—their customers will be. (See The Wall Street Journal (July 19, 2018) and (July 25, 2018).)

The seat bottom is one of the most crucial elements in seat comfort, and one of the most carefully studied. Longer is better: You get more support under your thighs. Most U.S. airlines go with an average of about 18 inches. Singapore Airlines designed a Zodiac brand seat for its premium economy cabins on long-range Airbus A350s that has a 19-inch seat bottom. Those seats also have leg rests, which can take strain off muscles and increase blood flow.

Another airline choice that affects your comfort: how high the seat is off the floor. About 18 inches is standard, but some European airlines with generally tall clientele want seats constructed higher, so long legs rest more naturally. Some Asian airlines order seats at 17 inches cushion height. Airlines have their long-held prejudices on seats. Some prefer a firm cushion. Others want softer. Even when manufacturers suggest one particular firmness that they think provides ideal support and comfort for most passengers, some airlines insist on modifications.

Manufacturers say they can achieve greater comfort when the support materials and padding distribute weight so that as little as possible falls on a pair of bones on the bottom of the pelvis. To test designs, manufacturers typically recruit lots of volunteers to sit in seats for hours, recording both data and comments on how uncomfortable they are. Zodiac offers a 2-hour seat, a 2-to-6 hour seat and a seat for flights 8 hours or longer.

Classroom discussion questions:

Why is an ergonomic chair an OM issue?
Compare the seats at various airlines. How do they relate to corporate strategies?

OM in the News: Ergonomics and the “Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat”

Many carriers have been finding ways to put more, smaller seats in cabins.

Spirit Airlines, at least, is honest about the tight quarters on its planes. “We’re a cozy airline,” it says on its website. “We add extra seats to our planes so we can fly with more people. This lowers ticket prices for everyone, just like a car pool.” It’s not news that airlines have been squeezing more — and smaller — seats into the backs of their planes. The people who run revenue departments — want more seats on planes. They’re up against the marketing people, who are trying to act as their passengers’ advocates.

“To accommodate the airlines, seat manufacturers have been skimming and trimming from just about every dimension, relocating the seatback pocket, replacing padding with elastic mesh and whittling down the armrests,” writes The New York Times (Nov. 7, 2017). While low-cost airlines like Spirit have narrowed the distance between rows of seats to as little as 28 inches, most of the big carriers have kept the distance (seat pitch) at 30 inches. Anything less pushes already travelers to their limits.

“We’ve been using a lot of advanced materials, a lot of composite materials, to allow the actual physical structure to get smaller,” said the VP of a seat manufacturer. “We’ve also removed a lot of the hard points in the seat and gone to fabric suspension systems, leading to seats more akin to ergonomic desk chairs. The less size that the seat structure itself takes up, the more space that’s left over for the passenger.” Or, as the case may be, for more passengers.

Airlines contend that improved ergonomics and, in some cases, slightly wider seats make up for a tighter pitch. But passengers have been getting taller and wider, and regulations still stipulate that planes have to be able to be evacuated in just 1.5 minutes. The seats were originally designed for men who averaged 5′ 10″ and 170 pounds. Right now, the average man is just under 200 pounds.

Classroom discussion questions:
1. How is ergonomics an OM issue?

2. Make the case for more space–then for tighter seats.

OM in the News: The Ultimate Ergonomic Desk

While the standing desk has become a staple in homes and offices, this ergonomic revolution hasn’t given us an acceptable way to recline flat and still be able to work. And not just lie down, really, but what about all the many micro-positions between standing and sitting? Those are the places Altwork wants to be. Altwork is a convertible workstation that covers everything from standing to sitting to lying down, with your monitor hanging above you, writes Wired (Oct. 28, 2015). The price: $5,900. Unveiled, it sort of looks like the chair in your dentist’s office: a mechanized assembly with plenty of head support and with a swiveling desk attached. The unit also has an arm that holds your second screen, and the desk piece extends out so that you get up from the chair and work standing up at the side. In order to keep your keyboard, mouse, and mousepad from flying down at your face while the desk portion is situated above you, Altwork’s design uses magnets.

The origin of Altwork—which has been in stealth mode for half a decade—came from CEO Che Voight, who injured his back years ago and was unable to sit while working at a computer. “We aren’t trying for a general purpose desk. This is designed for people whose job is to operate a computer. We are looking at CAD engineers, financial traders, animators, technical writers,” says Voigt. “I feel like the high-intensity computer user is undervalued. Those are the people who, if their project gets done a little bit sooner, that’s a big deal.”

Altwork certainly seems like it would make you focus. While it’s not a walled-off pod, reclining with a computer floating above your face sends a strong “Do not disturb” signal—which, maybe isn’t great for communication or co-working. But Voigt says that’s why the standing desk option exists: The importance of the “deskside,” drive-by meeting can’t be underestimated, and Altwork allows for it.

Classroom discussion questions:

What other ergonomic advances have been made in offices?
Who will be the customer for this product?

OM in the News: Designing the Perfect Airline Seat–To Maximize Revenue

Yesterday’s New York Times (Sept. 9, 2014) featured not 1, not 2, but 3 articles on how airlines are addressing the issue of cramped seats! In the 1st, we find that the European budget carrier Ryanair just announced an agreement to purchase up to 200 new Boeing 737s (a $22 billion deal), each of which will allow that airline to squeeze an additional 8 seats into the single-aisle airframe. Ryanair will fit the planes with a whopping 197 seats, stripping out the front and rear galleys to help the redesign.

The 2nd article, titled “In Flight Rage,” confirms that cramped conditions in the back of a plane can severely test passenger equanimity. We have seen this in recent episodes in which pilots have made emergency landings when a few passengers have fought over seat-reclining. One prof, comparing people to livestock, finds that international regulations on flying animals specify the “need space to travel comfortably and on a long journey, the animal must be able to stretch, turn round, drink and groom itself.” Sounds better than a coach seat!

The 3rd piece gets to the heart of the matter–ergonomics, and ties in perfectly to Chapter 10. The real issue, says Prof. Kathleen Robinette at Oklahoma State U., is that airline seats are not designed to fully accommodate the human body in its various shapes and sizes. “We are fighting each other, but the seats are not designed right,” she says. Her study of 4,431 people found that seats are designed for a man in the 95th percentile of measurements. This means 1 in 20 men will be using seats that are too small for them. “That’s about 10 people on every plane, as well as all the people sitting next to them,” she adds. A big flaw in seat design, however, is that men in the 95th percentile are not necessarily larger than women. For about 1 in 4 women, the seat will be too small at the hips. Of even greater concern is the risk of blood clots, including a potentially deadly condition called deep vein thrombosis, which can occur when sitting in a way so you can’t move for about a 1/2 hour.

Classroom discussion questions:

1. What are the OM tradeoffs here?

2. Why is ergonomics an important issue on planes?

OM in the News: The Long and the Short of the Perfect Office Chair

Ergonomics (see Chapter 10) is an important issue for operations managers, be it in a factory setting or in an office. A rising problem, reports The Wall Street Journal (May 20, 2014) is the office chair. Most chairs are designed for the 5th to the 95th percentile of the population—people who are closer to average in size. That leaves roughly 4 million white-collar workers on the unlucky extremes of the bell curve—too small for their chair, with legs dangling, or too big for their chair, with knees bent up toward the chin.

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who is 4 foot 10 inches, once sawed off the legs of his office chair and desk to make them fit. He was working in the Justice Department in the 1970s, and the General Services Administration refused his request to shorten his standard-sized wooden desk and chair. “I snuck in one weekend with my saw and did it myself, and sent the stubs to the GSA administrator,” Dr. Reich says. His office chair later as Labor Secretary left his legs sticking out, so he held meetings standing up.

Solving the problem can be complicated for employers. Some worry about fostering resentment if they give one employee a special chair. Also, changing the size of a chair often means the desk must be raised or lowered too. Manufacturers are offering more work tables that can be adjusted with an electric lift, a hand crank or movable pins in the legs. They are also making more work surfaces, keyboard supports and computer-monitor arms that can be moved on vertical rails.

Most operations managers are under heavy pressure to hold down costs, however, and providing special items for a few workers conflicts with a common strategy of buying many standard items at discounted prices. Special chairs can list for $1,000 or more. But the need for adjustable chairs is growing. Steelcase Inc. recently studied the body shapes and postures of 2,000 workers in 11 countries and found that “extreme size” is on the rise.

Classroom discussion questions:

1. Why is ergonomics an important OM issue in offices?

2. Are height issues a similar problem in factories?

OM in the News: The Danger of Workplace Noise

A study links hearing and work-related injuries

Extremely loud noise on the job, as well as hearing loss from noise exposure, may cause workers to miss danger warnings, reports Newsmax Health (April 3, 2014). Workers regularly exposed to noise levels of 100 decibels – about the volume standing next to a lawnmower – have more than doubled risk of being hospitalized for a workplace injury. Workers with hearing loss were also more likely to be seriously hurt.

“Noise induced hearing loss is a public health issue – in the US, up to 30 million workers are exposed to noise,” said a Canadian researcher. “From an occupational safety perspective, work-related injuries remain an important issue that generates significant costs for businesses, workers and compensation organizations.” Exposure to high noise levels increases fatigue, decreases the ability to concentrate and impairs the quality of communication between workers.

Both noise and noise-induced hearing loss could be involved in the occurrence of accidents. For every decibel of hearing loss, the risk of hospitalization due to work-related injury increased by 1 percent. Workers exposed to noise levels above 100 decibels had 2.4 times the risk of being hospitalized for work-related injuries compared to workers not exposed to loud noise. Workers with the combination of severe hearing loss and working in an environment where noise exposure is overly intense the risk of being hospitalized with a work-related injury is 3.6 times that of workers with neither factor.

Workers who can’t hear properly, either because of hearing loss or wearing hearing protection that’s too strong, might miss important communications and signals on the job. One thing that might help is if workers and supervisors devise special safety signals that don’t rely as much on hearing.

Classroom discussion questions:

1. What levels of noise are students exposed to daily? Refer to Figure 10.4b in Chapter 10.

2. How can an operations manager protect employees?

OM in the News: And the Winner of This Year’s Ergonomics Prize Is…

Coca-Cola found a way to improve the posture of workers responsible for off-loading fruit from shipment containers to a collection bin. It didn’t involve a high-tech, expensive fix. Associates simply designed and built a tool using spare pipe from their maintenance department. During the old process (left), a worker had to prop a door open using a shovel in one hand to control the flow of the fruit, while the other hand had to unlatch the door and sweep the fruit out of the container and into the bin. The tool allows for the fruit to be released without the hand support of the worker.

For this innovative, less physically taxing approach to a daily problem, the company took first place (out of 180 entries) in Humantech’s Find It – Fix It Challenge. The contest, described in Material Handling & Logistics (Nov., 2013), recognizes simple and effective workplace solutions that increase productivity, improve worker morale and reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. Honorable mentions went to Goodyear Tire and to Hitchiner Manufacturing.

Prior to the improvement at Goodyear, an operator had to change and move liner rolls while in awkward postures. With shrugged shoulders, poor grip and radial deviation postures in the hands and wrists, the operator had to carry the liner roll to the rack, and then lift and set it into its desired location. After adding an ergonomically automated lifting and lowering device to support the liner rolls, the operator’s new task is to push the device to the desired location, which eliminates the awkward postures.

Initially, at Hitchiner, an operator had to pick up a 50-pound bag of wax beads from a pallet and carry it to a workstation. At least once per shift, the operator had to pick up the bag and dump beads into a barrel to refill it. Now, the operator just pushes the near empty barrel to the filler to be refilled. This improvement eliminated all heavy lifting and awkward postures.

Classroom discussion questions:
1. Provide other examples of how ergonomics can improve a process with which you are familiar.

2. Who is in the best place to provide process improvements?

OM in the News: Ergonomics for an Aging Workforce

It’s no secret the exodus of retirement-age workers and their considerable knowledge is placing a strain on manufacturing companies around the globe. Less discussed, but just as real, reports Industry Week (Aug., 2013), are the challenges being presented by aging workers still employed on the manufacturing floor — and the design changes workplaces should be considering to keep these valuable employees productive and in the game.

“With this shift, we first must appreciate the difference between the younger and aging person, and then make sure we design accordingly so that these differences don’t become an obstacle,” says ergonomics expert Lance Perry.

Xerox, for example, has taken ergonomic measures to address its older population. In its 2012 environment, health and safety report, the company noted that musculoskeletal disorders continue to represent about half of its work-related injuries and illnesses, which, says Xerox, “is why we have strong processes to reduce ergonomic stresses in the workplace. Those strong processes include an ergonomic training program designed to provide simple ergonomic strategies, as well as awareness of the normal aging process, to reduce personal risk to employees.”

“Many people view the aging workforce as a liability, and to some extent it might be, but it is also an opportunity,” adds Perry. “This is where your experience lies, this is where your job knowledge lies, this is where, in some respects, loyalty lies.” Ultimately, Perry advises manufacturers to consider what design changes they can make to retain valuable, but aging, knowledge workers. “What can you do to keep them on the job longer and still be productive and safe in the process?”

Discussion questions:
1. Why is ergonomics an important issue for operations managers?

2. What kind of ergonomics designs can help older workers?