Share this
Ergonomic solutions can have a positive impact on morale, productivity, and retention. Why wait?
Those involved in direct animal care are modern day athletes. They perform all sorts of athletic moves, compete in games lasting eight hours per day, and often go into overtime. The season runs 52 weeks per year with no three month reprieve. They participate both as teams and individually, some with careers exceeding 30 years. How do we keep these athletes motivated, healthy, and capable of performing the work? One way is to provide them with an ergonomically sound playing field.
Ergonomics has been a hot topic for at least the past twenty years, yet its scope can still confuse and confound. The definition seems straightforward enough: “The study of how a worker performs work.”The concept has been effectively distilled into a “blinding flash of common sense backed by science,” usually precipitated by someone saying “this job is hard,” “this doesn’t feel good,” or “I really don’t like using this tool.”Even with these easy to understand descriptions, incorporating ergonomics remains an elusive target. Our goal here is to dispel a few myths associated with implementing ergonomic solutions and provide guidance and insight into developing solutions based on needs and resources. This article is written from the perspective of rodent-oriented facilities and,while the care of larger animals in many cases may be dissimilar, in a general sense many of the concepts and principles presented can be applied universally.
On Offense, ergonomic improvements aim to enhance optimal performance in the first place. This can include anything from changing an employee’s task assignments to adding automation to replace manual work.On Defense, strategies aim to correct or modify procedures to lessen the impact of repetitive motion activities. Buying new tools with ergonomic handles or adding cushioned floor mats represent other moves for the Defense.
Basic Considerations
The “pay now or pay later” axiom applies to implementation of ergonomics. Macroergonomics involve big picture issues such as facility traffic patterns to reduce walking distances or automation to replace highly repetitive manual tasks. Because they are more global, macroergonomic improvements cost more up front but afford a greater savings over the life of the facility. Microergonomics involve issues at the granular level such as ergonomically correct tool handles. In the facility design stages, improvements at the macroergonomic level are often deemed too expensive and are often at risk of being “value engineered” out of a project. However, if the costs of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) were used in calculating a real cost/benefit, such improvements might not be seen as expensive— allowing for more technology and innovation to be incorporated into animal facilities. Ultimately, though, solutions to improve worker comfort in the resulting facility must be considered at the microergonomic level. At this point, these improvements may have been triggered by decreased productivity or even injuries.
Ideally, all of our facilities would be fully automated and repetitive motion tasks would not be required of anyone. Unfortunately, we live in the real world with financial constraints. Fortunately, though, ergonomics is not an“all or nothing” venture. In evaluating opportunities for ergonomic improvements, several measures of economic impact should be considered.
Baby Steps: Small steps can make a big impact on worker comfort. In evaluating a task, consider whether a simple, inexpensive option might be effective enough to adequately reduce an ergonomic risk. Before investing in an automated feed dispensing system, consider a $5 feed scoop with an ergonomically correct handle. Even if new scoops are purchased for the entire staff, it results in an inexpensive elimination of some repetitive wrist flexions which can lead to carpal tunnel injury.
Productivity: An uncomfortable worker costs time and supplies. The worker using the old feed scoop will work slower to accommodate wrist pain; their processing quota may not be met. Because of pain or immobility, the scooping action may be affected so that the feed pellets don’t always make the cage. Processing delays from slowed production and waste from spillage can add up, particularly in a high throughput area. Working with an ergonomically correct tool enhancing the employee’s comfort will allow a return to acceptable productivity.
Injury prevention: According to 2007 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) accounted for 29% of all workplace injuries requiring time away from work.1 These 335,390 MSD injuries required a median of nine days recovery out of the workplace.This is two days more than the median for all workplace injury cases.1According to a comprehensive NIOSH study, there is “strong evidence of an association between MSDs and certain work-related physical factors…” 2 It is a well know fact that worker injuries are expensive. Not only can they involve worker compensation costs,missed work and decreased productivity, but they add workload burdens to other employees.