ErgoWell Program
FitnessWork believes that being 'Fit for Duty' requires employees and management to synergize so both are working towards the same end result: Health, wealth and happiness. Being fit is more of an obligation to oneself and family than it is for ones employer.
Ergonomics has been defined many ways: Fitting the work to the employee, making the tasks easier, making employees more productive, etc. Because of the number of musculoskeletal injuries to the American workforce, OSHA has been trying for 20 years to develop a standard for ergonomics. After the 2000 election, Secretary Elaine Chow told Congress that she wanted to select a committee to make recommendations to OSHA (NACE) concerning ergonomics. After being selected to the committee, one of my goals was to make ergonomics practical and value added. One of our members was a leading hand surgeon and he told me that one of the main variables that affect musculoskeletal injuries is fitness and overall health. Engineering changes can also increase productivity and contribute to increased job satisfaction, which can also affect the risk of injury. In my 20+ years of experience in Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics, the Wilsonville plant has done as good of a job as I've ever seen in promoting wellness, strengthening, and the human side of ergonomics. We must now attack the workplace variables in a way that makes sense for the Wilsonville plant, by involving employees and management in making practical changes to the jobs to increase productivity and further reduce the risk of injury. With the progress completed to date, Wilsonville is indeed ready to create one of the most effective ergonomics processes in the country.
-- Richard Wyatt Ph.D., PE, CPE, CQE, Associate Director, Aon Risk Consultants
