Ergonomics and the Workplace

Ergonomics and the Workplace

Introduction

This research paper is based on Ergonomics and the Workplace. Every day the machines perform more work. This diffusion of mechanization and automation often accelerates the pace of work and can sometimes make it less interesting. Moreover, there are still many tasks to be done manually which involve great physical effort. One consequence of labor in addition to increased mechanization is that more and more workers are suffering from back pain, neck pain, sore wrists, arms and legs and eye strain.

The importance of ergonomics at workplace is to promote health and wellness, reduce accidents and improve business productivity. The ergonomic adaptation of manual work is not easy, but with the systematic studies, employers can introduce simple changes that increase the welfare of their workers. The implementation of ergonomics principles at the workplace will improve the employment situation, particularly if management understands the relationships between productivity and good ergonomics. Organizational ergonomics and processes is one of the major challenges of the professional organization today (Klaus, 2012).

Ergonomics is the technological discipline that deals with the design of workplaces, tools and tasks that match the physiological, anatomical, psychological and skills of the worker. It seeks to optimize the three elements of the system (human, machine and environment), which develops methods to study the person, technology and organization.

Importance of Ergonomics in the Workplace

Ergonomics is the study of work in relation to the environment in which it takes place (the workplace) and those who perform it (workers). It is used to determine how to design or adapt the workplace to the worker to avoid various health problems and increase efficiency. In other words, ergonomics focus on the creation of person-job foot rather than forcing the worker to adapt to it. A simple example is to raise the height of a desk so that the operator does not have to bend over to work unnecessarily. The ergonomic specialist is called the ergonomist, it studies the relationship between the worker, workplace and job design. Ergonomics at workplace focus on the creation of personalized desktops to employees after taking into account factors such as specific tasks of the staff, medical requirements and working methods of each staff member (John, 2005).

Ergonomics is the process of fitting the job to the worker. It is responsible for designing the machines, tools and the core work to maintain the pressure of work among the labor at a minimum level. Ergonomics emphasizes how the work develops, i.e. how workers make body movements and postures during their duties, it also focuses on the tools and equipment workers use, and the effect it have on the welfare and health of workers (Corlett, 1988). Sometimes, tiny ergonomic changes in the design of equipment, workplaces or work tasks may involve significant improvements. The workers should suggest ergonomic changes at the workplace and should be involved in discussions before those changes are implemented. Employees' contribution can be helpful in determining necessary and appropriate ...