What’s the difference between an ergonomics checklist and an ergonomics assessment tool, and when should one or the other be used? In general, they may seem similar, but in practice there are important differences:
- Ergonomics Checklists …
- are yes/no questions about common problems
- only tell you if you might have an issue
- are generally easy to use, and are sometimes used for self-evaluations
- are versatile enough for both repetitive and non-repetitive jobs
- can be customized to the type of work tasks, settings and environments
- Ergonomics Assessment Tools …
- Give you an ergonomics risk score for a job or task
- tells you if there is a problem, and whether your solution resolves that problem
- generally require training
- are most often used to analyze repetitive work jobs and tasks
There are appropriate times and a places to use either an ergonomics checklist or an ergonomics assessment. We discuss this topic in more detail in our short VIDEO: Ergonomics Assessments vs. Ergonomics Checklists.
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