Assessing Ergonomics Prevents Workplace Injuries

CHMM’s and Safety Professionals have been successfully using JHA’s and PHA’s to identify potential extrinsic causes of injury in the workplace. However, there are still injuries occurring due to other factors that have not been previously fully identified. Through further analysis, it has become apparent that we need to look at the intrinsic factors in the workforce that are causing these musculoskeletal injuries. Therefore, the importance of ergonomics (the science of fitting workplace conditions and job demands to the capabilities of the working population) has become more evident to even further reduce the potential for these muscle and joint sprains and strains. The inclusion of medical professionals on our teams to better evaluate job tasks and the workplace seems to be the obvious next step to help meet OSHA guidelines and prevent these injuries.