What is Ergonomic Safety?

Ergonomics is defined as fitting the job or task to the worker in order to reduce the risk of

Musculoskeletal Injury (MSI).

Risk factors that contribute to ergonomic hazards include:

Repetition - doing the same task repeatedly that uses the same muscles over and over.

At the office - Typing, sitting, reading, lifting

High Force - using high muscle power during activities such as heavy lifting, pushing items,

gripping tools.

At the office - Moving boxes, packing orders, picking up supplies

Contact Stress - when pressure from an object, such as a tool handle, is pushed on the soft

body tissues.

At the office - Your mouse, your elbows on your desk

Awkward Postures - working with your body held in a poor position for a long time.

At the office - Sitting! Dr. Levine of the Mayo clinic said that “sitting is the new smoking”

Sitting is the New Smoking??

This is a popular phrase coined by Dr. Levine of the Mayo Clinic in the States.

He has said that prolonged sitting and a sedentary life are linked to increased chances of

serious health problems. Smoking is linked to increased chances of serious health

problems.

Sitting can lead to the following; Obesity/ Type 2 Diabetes / Cancer / Heart

attack, stroke

Sitting too much restricts blood flow and circulation. Over time, shoulders round and slump

which leads to chronic issues such as neck, back pain and potential disc degeneration.

Unlike smoking, we really don’t get a choice in how much we sit due to the nature of the

working modern world. We can’t simply say no to sitting at our computer and getting our

work done as if we were being offered a cigarette.

We may commute to work sitting, sit in meetings and at our computer all day, then be so

mentally fatigued once at home, we can only muster up the energy to sit on the couch and

watch our favorite show.

Here are some tips to help us cut down on sitting!

• Park your car as far away as possible to encourage lots of walking in the day

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator

• Take a short break from sitting every 30 min. Get up! Drink water, go to the

washroom, do a task standing.

• When the phone rings, walk around as you take the call.

• Set an alarm to remind you to move every hour

• Consider getting a stand up desk, or make your own

• Hit the gym after work! Get 30 min of exercise a day.

Why does ergonomic safety even matter?

Workers are reporting to be in a lot of pain due to ergonomic hazards. Poor ergonomics are

painful for you and can have chronic, long-term effects.

For your employees - Musculoskeletal Injuries (MSI) are very common across all industries

in Alberta and BC. About 60% of all lost time injures and 33% of Work Safe BC claims are

muscle type injuries. They are so common in fact, that Work Safe BC recently updated their

regulations to include Musculoskeletal Injury (MSI) prevention.

Remember, a lost time incident is a recordable incident, so it brings down your safety stats

and brings up your insurance rates!

Preventing Musculoskeletal Injuries is the law! For BC – Part 4 under guidelines. For AB –

Section 211 under part 14 lifting and handling loads.