Ergonomics As Customer Focused Risk Management

We believe that an assessment of ergonomics factors should be a part of every change management project and can have considerable benefits for the organisation. Those who adopt an ergonomic, customer-centred approach can minimise many of the problems that can arise upon implementation of any new design.

Managing risk was discussed in a previous article, Managing risk in high-tech product design. This article re-introduces this subject and demonstrates how we can use our skills during complex Space-Planning projects.

Space planning

Our Space Planning services concentrate on the people and their requirements; IT hardware, software, working methods and procedures, organisational and business issues and furniture specifications. The focus is on improving the efficiency and productivity of the workforce through the provision of safe, comfortable and effective working methods, practices and environments. We identify the problems early on and provide solutions that address these problems and are practical and meet clients' business requirements.

The benefits of matching the working environment and equipment to the abilities and preferences of the staff who use them include:

• Increased productivity and efficiency
• Increased satisfaction
• Decreased errors/increased accuracy
• Decreased training costs
• Decreased maintenance costs
• Reduced levels of musculoskeletal and visual discomfort, fatigue and stress
• Reduced incidence of injuries
  Reduced incidence of accidents
• Decreased sickness and absenteeism rates

Measurable benefits

In our work for a range of clients over the past eighteen years, we have seen measurable benefits in all these areas achieved through using a customer-centred approach. Our Space Planning services can take a number of different forms:

• Preparing, documenting and presenting good practice approaches.
• Advising on proposed building, refurbishment, and equipment plans drawn up by architects, consulting engineers, manufacturers, designers, etc.
• Developing in-house ergonomics policies for purchasing, procurements, and implementation.
• Evaluating proposed approaches against job/task requirements and business goals.

As with high-tech product design, we focus on minimising risk through a customer-centred process, managing the client's risk by providing an in-depth analysis of the context of use. The context of use tells us who is going to use what products, what they are going to do with them, and under what circumstances. A such, we provide detailed operational and technical advice by liasing closely with the staff who will be affected by a proposed change, or who are experiencing problems with their current environment/equipment. Conducting detailed job and task analyses helps to ensure that the new equipment and working environment will meet the business goals and staff requirements. We use a variety of methods including:

• questionnaire surveys
• independent ergonomics evaluations
• consultation exercises and interviews
• Videotaping of any tasks which are likely to cause a health and safety risk, e.g. repetitive keying tasks, manual handling, document processing, etc.
• link analysis
• flow charts
• process mapping
• activity modelling
• evaluating plans
• risk assessments

Effective recommendations

This type of data, combined with our knowledge of British and International Standards and our own ergonomics experience, is used to prepare reports containing pragmatic, effective recommendations about equipment purchasing and working environment planning and/or redesign.

In summary, we aim to help our clients solve business problems during any change management project by providing unique support, expertise and advice in human factors, ergonomics and health and safety. By adopting a customer-centred approach from the start of the project we aim to manage the clients' risk and ensure that problems are minimised throughout the implementation of the new design.

Tom Stewart

First published 2004

Last reviewed Jan 2008