Were you or the people you work with stressed-out in 2020? When people are stressed out, they are more likely to suffer work-related illnesses and injuries. Many people were moved to work-from-home without enough planning or preparation. Millions of people in industries deemed “essential” also had to work through the worst of the pandemic in…
In 2016 over a three-week period, 3,000 corporate headquarters employees at my former company moved from one building to a new one. Even after six months, very few employees experienced work-related MSDs. In 2020, millions of people around the world moved, over about three weeks, to new home offices. And various studies show that about…
Spencer, the QP3 Ergo Lab, is at home and recovering well from his TPLO (hip) surgery, but he is not supposed to do a lot of stairs. To help him, we constructed a simple reinforced ramp to allow him to get in/out of his house more easily. This ramp used mostly scrap materials and cost under…
I am frequently asked to recommend a piece of equipment to assist with addressing an ergonomics need. I do not mind helping out, but please consider a few things before you ask for help. As I am an independent consultant, and giving out free advice on specific issues does not pay my bills, so before…
We are rapidly closing in on a year of “working at home for a few weeks.” Is your company still operating as if working at home is a temporary thing? What has your company done for work at home employees? Unless it was accompanied by focused guidance, an employee stipend may have had only limited…
On December 17, 1978 I was a 12-year old managing our family’s choose & cut Christmas tree farm, while my father fed the cattle on a cold winter morning. During a break from customers, I looked towards the house, waiting for Dad to relieve me so I could have some lunch. But instead of seeing…
I periodically hear people state their beliefs that ergonomics-related engineering improvements tend to be cost prohibitive. While this does happen, I find it to be the exception, versus the rule. But how can that be? Yes, there are situations in some facilities that can be cost prohibitive to change—short term. This is especially true in…
We all like to eat a good meal, but many people don’t always understand, or appreciate the efforts that are required of thousands of people across the globe to feed us. Someone has to produce, process, and distribute the foodstuffs we all too often take for granted. Even those who may still grow a lot…
Get COVID-19 SAFETY CERTIFICATION today! COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon. In one Illinois testing center, for example, positive test rates recently exceeded 28%. In just two weeks, Sedgwick County, Kansas has had over 7,600 new cases. Kent County, Michigan has logged over 47,000 cases per 1-million residents. With this rise in COVID-19 cases…
If you live and/or work in Illinois, new Tier 3 COVID-19 requirements are being implemented after midnight tonight. Click this link for more details, but here are some key elements for Manufacturing, Hospitality and Offices. Our services are not limited to Illinois, as we have consultants across the country who can help you as we work…