Ergonomics – It’s Not Just the Physical Components

Ergonomics is the scientific discipline aimed at understanding the interactions between humans and the other elements of a system to achieve greater employee well-being and systems-level performance. While it is its own advanced field, ergonomics also draws from a number of other disciplines in order to form its principles, including engineering, psychology, anthropometry, kinesiology, industrial design, and more. Given these many different areas working together to put ergonomics into practice, it can generally be divided into three sub-areas: cognitive, physical, and organizational. Here’s a breakdown of what each of these three areas means to the discipline of ergonomics and how you can use them to optimize your working environment. Cognitive ergonomics From a cognitive standpoint, ergonomics is primarily concerned with the mental processes required to perform in a role, such as reasoning, motor response, and perception. Cognitive ergonomics works to effectively design tasks to ensure the cognitive and psychological aspects of the processes are considered to avoid over-stressing the human operator/employee.  A worker’s cognitive ability can affect many different aspects of their performance, ranging from mental workload capacity and reliability to stress management and human-computer interaction. In these respects, improving ergonomics means providing practical solutions that can be applied to improve cognitive processing, understanding, and performance. Physical ergonomics Physical ergonomics involves the direct effect of work on the body, as well as the body’s responses to the physical and physiological demands of a given role.  Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) occur within the area of physical ergonomics. In looking at the physical components of a position, a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE) considers:

• Physical postures (neutral, awkward, and/or sustained)
• Material handling (lifting, pushing/pulling, carrying)
• The role of tools in the position (do they add or reduce stress on the body)
• Frequent and/or continuous movements/motions
• The layout of the workplace (are shelves reachable, are work surfaces adjustable, etc.)
• Environmental considerations such as heat, cold, wetness, etc. 

Understanding the physical demands of a role or a set of tasks is critical to implementing deliverable solutions that will improve ergonomics. Organizational ergonomics Where cognitive deals with the mind and physical deals with the body, organizational ergonomics is concerned with having official policies and processes in place that will reduce the risk of bodily stress and injury. Aspects of a role or workplace that impact ergonomics include:

• Best practices
• Job rotation
• Scheduling
• Resource management
• Breaks/ stretching policies
• And more

It’s important to ensure workers are not only physically and mentally set up for success, but that the organization and leadership are providing them with the resources to do so. The multi-disciplinary advantage of Fit For Work In order to make effective and sustainable changes to optimize the entire system and in turn improve employee performance and well-being, an ergonomics professional must first know the job. Fit For Work’s team is made up of professionals from a wide range of unique backgrounds, allowing us to take the entire equation into consideration when implementing ergonomic strategies that serve the cognitive, physical, and organizational aspects of your business.  We consider engineering, psychology, and everything in between to reduce musculoskeletal disorders within your workforce through specifically tailored solutions. And while we do this on a per-project basis, we also do so through an industry-first subscription-based service that provides your safety team with a year-round ergonomics partner, complete with on-demand access to CPEs and a boots-on-the-ground presence – all dedicated to a making your working environment better. The 12-month subscription starts with a hands-on approach that works closely with your project teams to gather information for an ergonomic risk assessment. At Fit For Work, we know there are many individuals from various backgrounds/disciplines on these project teams involved in creating the work being performed by the employees, such as Safety, Engineering/Operations, Occupational Health, Human Resources/Recruiting, Quality, and Continuous Improvement.  Our CPEs take the findings from our scientifically rigorous risk assessment processes and translate them into deliverables designed to optimize systems-level performance, which improves productivity, quality, and human performance and well-being, while also reducing the risk of injuries and MSDs. And we do this all for a fraction of the cost.  Contact Fit For Work today to begin experiencing the difference onsite ergonomic support can make for your businesses on a subscription basis.