As most safety professionals know, injuries related to ergonomics are those caused by over-use, impact, vibration, repetition and forceful exertion. These injuries can be reduced by improvements in equipment and work practices.

Here are some quick and easy work practices you can share with your workers to help them reduce their risk of ergonomic-related injuries.

1. If you can see the imprint of your watch on your wrist, the band is too tight and you may be causing damage to your wrist. Loosen the band.
2. Grab a large rubber band and put it around all your fingertips, cup your hand so your fingertips are touching each other. Now use the force of the rubber band and try to spread your fingers out as wide as possible. Repeat 10 times with each hand 3 to 5 times a day. This will strengthen your inner hand ligaments and tendons.
3. While driving use cruise control if possible and weather permitting. It will take the pressure off the right side of your body, your accelerator and brake pad side.
4. For those who sit at a computer all day, check that your body is properly aligned when typing; align the “B” key on your keyboard with your belly button (only on standard keyboard designs)
5. A footrest will not only support your feet, it also helps support your back. But it should only be enough to raise your knees to slightly above your hips.
6. When working at the computer for a long period of time, force yourself to yawn. This both moistens your eyes and reduces the tension by relaxing and exercising your facial muscles.
7. Use the 20-20-20 rule, When working at the computer for a long time, take a break every 20 minutes and look at an object at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.
8. Have a lot of stuff on your desk? Place the items you use most frequently closest to you to avoid repeated extended reaches.
9. Do you sometimes wear a backpack? Check its weight. The weight of a backpack should not exceed 15 percent of your weight. Exceeding this increases your risk of back injury.
10. Avoid daily activities that place the arm above shoulder level. This will significantly decrease the risk of a shoulder injury.
11. When placing items on shelves, store the heaviest items on the middle shelves and the lightest objects on the top and bottom shelves.
12. Design or modify your workstation so that all lifts are in the lifting strike zone (i.e., the beginning and end of your lift are between mid-thigh and chest level and close to your body at all times).
13. What difference do a couple of inches make? Your back works at least 30 percent harder when you lift a 25-pound item 4 inches away from your body versus holding it close to your body.
14. Lift with your legs—they are designed to provide a mechanical advantage to the body. Lifting with the back places the body at a mechanical disadvantage.
15. When lifting, break larger loads into smaller, lighter loads. Repetition is better than heavier weights.
16. Use manual movement devices such as carts, dollies, or forklifts to move items, even if it takes longer to perform the task.
17. Plan the lift ahead of time especially if there is more than one lifter.
18. Always position yourself in front of an object being lifted to reduce reaching or twisting.
19. Pushing is the easiest form of manual material handling. Try to convert lifting and lowering activities to pushes.
20. Try to use hand tools that are as light as functionally possible. It will reduce the amount of force needed to operate the tool.
21. For heavier hand tools, ensure two hand use.
22. Bent angled tools are not necessarily ergonomically designed. Match the task being performed with the right tool so that the wrist is not bent.
23. Hand tool handles should be compressible and stay captive in the hand. Otherwise the hands and fingers are subject to pain due to soft tissue damage and reduced blood circulation.
24. Glove selection is important. Wear work gloves that fit, are flexible and come with grips. Otherwise extra effort is needed to perform tasks.

Conclusion

And here’s a final ergonomics tip for you: quit smoking. What does smoking have to do with ergonomics? Smokers have higher back injury and carpal tunnel syndrome rates than non-smokers.

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