Ergonomics


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Ergonomics

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Ergonomics—General
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Ergonomics: Back Injuries Cost California Farms More Than $22 Million Each Year; Prevent These Costly Injuries
September 2010
Life on the farm can mean back-breaking work for the workers who spend their days in the fields. Carrying heavy weights such as tools and produce, they work bent over, kneeling, reaching over plants, and twisting their wrists as they apply force. . . . more »

Trainer's Handbook: 'Green' Dry Cleaning Comes with Risks to Workers; How to Avoid Ergonomic, Chemical, and Burn Hazards
August 2010
It has been a tough summer for dry cleaners. In July, the next stage of California's environmentally motivated phase-out of perchloroethylene (PERC), a chemical used extensively by dry cleaners, went into effect. Dry cleaners must retire PERC-based machines once they reach the age of 15 years, and PERC use must be entirely phased out by 2023. . . . more »

Hazard Identification: Food for Thought; Food Production Facilities Find Themselves on High Hazard Industries List
August 2010
Although both working conditions and sanitation have improved since the days when Upton Sinclair detailed the horrors of Chicago's meatpacking industry in his 1906 novel The Jungle, food processing and manufacturing facilities still pose serious hazards to workers . . . more »

Ergonomics: Preventing Musculoskeletal Injuries in the Garment Industry; Tips from the OHB
May 2010
Garment manufacturing in California has fallen on hard times since its heyday in the mid-1990s, when the Los Angeles garment district alone provided jobs to more than 100,000 textile and apparel workers. . . . more »

Featured Resource: Ergonomics: A Checklist for Safer Sewing Machine Operations
May 2010
A properly adjusted workstation is critical to ergonomic injury prevention in any job. Use this checklist to make sure that sewing machine workstations are properly adjusted. . . . more »

News Note: Newly Revised Fact Sheet for Garment Workers Now Available
April 2010
California's Occupational Health Branch/Hazard Evaluation System and Information Service, in cooperation with the Labor Occupational Safety & Health Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, has issued a newly revised fact sheet, . . . more »

Bulletin: NIOSH offers Spanish-language guide for preventing musculoskeletal injuries in construction workers
March 2010
NIOSH recently published a Spanish-language translation of its guide Simple Solutions--Ergonomics for Construction Workers. The booklet is designed to help employers and workers adopt effective ways to . . . more »

News Note: Study Shows Big Payoff from Pre-hiring Physical Screenings of Drivers
March 2010
A two-year study by Atlas Ergonomics, a provider of ergonomic service and technology, found that systematic physical screenings of truck drivers for ergonomic risks following a conditional job offer led to a 7 percent reduction in . . . more »

News Note: Proactive Approach to Ergonomics Reduces Pain in Office Workers
December 2009
To reduce your employees' pain and improve their productivity, you need to do more than just buy ergonomic office equipment, says a study in the October Journal of Occupational and Environmental Me . . . more »

Appeals Board Decisions: Workers Might Not Stay Strong to the Finish While Weeding Spinach; Employer Cited for Providing Short-Handled Tools
August 2009
While conducting a "heat sweep" of area farms on July 25, 2007 to check for compliance with heat illness prevention regulations, two state Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) inspectors observed employees . . . more »

Ergonomics: Protect the Most Versatile Joint and Prevent Shoulder Injuries in Your Workplace
May 2009
Although injuries to the low back are more common, shoulder injuries tend to be more serious, keeping workers off the job for an average of 30 days while the average for back injuries is 12 days . . . more »

News Note: Agency Reports Ergonomic Injuries Down; Some Industry Rates Remain High
May 2009
The rate of musculoskeletal disorders across all U.S. private industry decreased from 49.6 per 10,000 in 2003 to 38.6 per 10,000 in 2006, an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data . . . more »

Bulletin: COCA Online Exclusive: Process evaluation worksheet
September 2008
This month, in Part 2 of our series on the ergonomics of lean manufacturing, COCA board member and Certified Professional Ergonomist Chris Shulenberger explains why the intersection of ergonomics and . . . more »

Ergonomics: Lean Manufacturing, Part 2: The Risk of MSDs from Tasks That Add No Value to the Product
September 2008
What if you could reduce your manufacturing costs, improve productivity, and prevent ergonomic injuries all at once? Sound too good to be true? . . . more »

Ergonomics: Lean Manufacturing, Part 1; When More Efficiency Leads to Aching Backs
August 2008
Over the last decade, many manufacturers have embraced "lean manufacturing," a strategy to eliminate wasted time, motion, and storage by streamlining production, altering production processes, and paring back warehousing. These changes often show up in the bottom line at . . . more »

Bulletin: Special Report included with this issue: "Lighten the Load: Identify and Control Ergonomic Hazards in Your Workplace to Prevent Costly Injuries, Increase Productivity, and Keep Workers on the Job"
April 2008
Ergonomic injuries, such as sprains, back pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome, cause workers to miss a significant number of workdays and . . . more »

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