Improving posture in workers on an inspection task

A large electronics company had workers carry out specific inspection tasks, which necessitated the neck being flexed and as a result many experienced sore necks. One person actually had a prolapsed disc in the neck.

Ergonomic assessment of assembly line

A number of staff reported upper limb pain, since starting to work on a new assembly line.

A body discomfort diagram was filled out by each worker, this produced similar data where all workers reported upper limb pain 4-5 times a day. A REBA analysis was also undertaken to give quantitaive data as to the level of exposure to musculoskeletal risk that workers on the assembly line were exposed to.

Using the data and the observations and mesurements taken during the ergonomic investigation recommendations could then be put in place to ensure that the assembly line corresponded with the 10 ergonomic principles.

The ergonomic study found that the assembly line ran too fast, and that workers had to adopt an awkward twist to ensure that they could keep on track. The speed was reduced and this allowed the worker to keep a neutral posture, one week later the workers reported that the pain and discomfort had subsided.

Training supervisors how to undertake ergonomic risk assessments

An engineering company reported that a number of workers were reporting musculoskeletal pain in the back and shoulders.

An ergonomic evaluation and assessment was undertaken, the REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment) tool was used. It was discovered that the work carried out was dynamic which involved moving things around, and it was the actual physical task of moving heavy objects around  that was causing physical discomfort and pain.

An apt solution suggested that supervisors should b trained in how to undertake ergonomic risk assessments, and motivate them  to contribute to the ergonomic program so that the program would have the best chance of succeeding.

This is an example of a participative approach to ergonomics.

Overhaul of DSE management system

A large insurance company employing many mobile and home workers realised that their current DSE management system was not sufficient.

enricoSmog assisted the company to include: home, mobile, older and disabled workers in the DSE management system.

Too many organisations forget about workers out of sight and do not realised how vulnerable they are to litigation, so it is essential that organisations continually update their DSE management systems.  As many products are just given to employees without training which is in detriment of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) and the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Regulations.

Mobile workers audit

A company that employed a large number of high mileage drivers found that on the annual appraisals many reported to suffering from musculoskeletal pain in particular neck, shoudler, and upper limb.

An ergonomic study was undertaken of the vehicles used, the geographical areas, the timing and arrangement of appointments and what preventative measures the drivers themselves were taking to reduce tiredness and discomfort.

Lack of supervisor contact was found to be a major issue, along with the fact that appointments had been made for the reps, that failed to incorporate rest breaks.

Based on the ergonomic findings, task and rest break schedules were decided upon, home offices were recommended and ergonomic guidance and princples given, and a closer working relationship with line managers and supervisors was recommended.

Evaluation of working practices and new software specification

An accounting firm had just received an updated version of their bespoke software. Over the course of the next few weeks, a high incidence of upper limb pain was reported.

enricoSmog ergonomic practitioners was asked to evaluate the software and determine the root cause of the problem.

The ergonomic findings showed that the software had been updated but not user tested, as a result users expecting to use keyboard shortcuts had to use the mouse. This resutled in over use of the mouse which the user t experienced as upper limb pain and musculoskeletal discomfort.

The software was recalled and shortcuts reinstalled, a follow up questionnaire found that when the software was reinstalled, pain and discomfort subsided while productivity decreased. As a result the employer was able to reduce the expense of temporay staff as these were no longer needed, as absence had decreased and the use of shortcuts made tasks a third quicker.

Ergonomic audit – legal firm

A legal firm asked enricoSmog ergonomic practitioners to carry out an ergonomic audit of their workplace.

This was carried out and problems were found in the mail room, and that various partners and secretarial staff suffered from musculoskeletal discomfort,

The mail room counter was too high and caused workers to suffer from neck and shoulder pain. An alternative design for the mail sorting task.that could incorporate both the small and larger user was put forward and a trial desk  set up that took into account the ergonomic criteria required.  Based on positive feedback a new counter was built.

Some of the legal partners were experiencing pain and discomfort. A DSE user awareness session was scheduled, and a DSE management system put in place. Any user still experiencing pain then had a follow up DSE assessment.

Without the audit and bespoke system many of the problems would not have surfaced, till it was too late.

Ergonomic audit – IT dept of local authority 

A medium sized council asked enricoSmog ergonomic practitioners to carry out an ergonomic assessment of their IT dept. As staff were reporting musculoskeletal discomfort and pain. There was also a high incidence of absence and high staff turnover.

Each staff member was assessed, and a task analysis carried out. One of the main tasks was to upgrade laptop and desktop systems, other tasks included dealing with network issues. In all cases  a lack of workspace and cramp working conditions was found to be the main culprits.

A number of suggestions were made, the main one  was to remove the large volume of equipment off the DSE users desks and onto computer racks, where it was easier to test between 8-10 laptops at a time. The large desktops could be placed on  bespoke workspace.

Equipment redundancy was achieved by using a switchbox to allow access for 6-10 machines using just one monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Workstation analysis of a financial company

A financial company asked us to carry out an ergonomic evaluation of  the Hedge Fund trading area.  The area had recently been set up, and the employer was concerned because a number of employees had started to report back, neck and upper limb pain.

Each Hedge Fund manager was assessed, and from this a pattern of problems emerged. It was noted that the workstation setup did not take into account any ergonomic principles which had led to managers suffering from discomfort and in some cases pain.

A trial trading desk was set up and each manager spent time working at the desk, comments were collected and the new set up was undertaken based on ergonomic criteria and the user trial. The traders then received regular monitoring and the ability to report problems as soon as any manifested.

Counter and advisory staff desk set up in bank

Staff working behind the counter in a bank reported back, neck and upper back pain and colleagues who were giving financial advice reported similar conditions, despite not working at the counter.

An ergonomic investigation  was undertaken, this evaluated the counter taking into consideration both worker and client needs. The RULA tool was used to determine the quantification of risk each worker was exposed to.

Ergonomic recommendations included: an update of cashier equipment, that allowed staff to organise his or her workstation for left or right hand. Seating was changed as the chairs were unsuitable and did not offer support. The process of taking items from clients was altered to reduce stretching. The 10 ergonomic principles were introduced to ensure workareas were usable by the staff that worked there. The client was shown how to undertake a user test to ensure that each stage to bring new problems and met the ergonomic design,

Advisors were given DSE user training and shown how to set up  his or her DSE workstation to avoid non-neutral postures. Importantly they were shown how to position client seating to avoid non-neutral postures again in line with the principles of ergonomics.

We have carried out many ergonomic assessments for banks and building societies(Northern Rock, Nationwide, Abbey National, Bar claysm Nat West, Lloyds TSB, HSB etc) and travel agents (Thomas Cook)