Introduction In January 2012, the hotel worker union UNITE HERE filed a petition with Cal/OSHA and requested a specific safety standard to protect hotel housekeepers. The request included a maximum requirement of cleaning 5,000 square feet of room space per eight-hour work shift, the use of fitted bottom sheets as a requirement, and the prohibition of working…
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the summer months of June, July and August have the most injuries resulting in days away from work. Of these cases, over 42-percent result from sprains, strains, tears, tendonitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). The average case cost of these is about $25,000. With summer rapidly approaching,…
No matter who we are, where we are, or what language we speak, EH&S risks hurt people, no matter how much one may try to hide or suppress the pain, ill-feeling, or discomfort. Whether a job is in processing, manufacturing, transportation & distribution, assembly, packaging, or an office, or whether working from home—safety risk factors…
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…