In this reprint from The Ergonomics Report, a well formulated and executed ergonomics program is once again shown to be a significant contributor to the organizational bottom line. This recent evidence comes from research conducted by University of Wisconsin based researchers Garg and Kapellusch who tracked key business metrics at seven health care facilities with ergonomics programs that included patient handling equipment. While safe patient handling has become an important topic in many health care facilities, and regulators, the proven benefits of an ergonomics program are transferable to any workplace or industry.

A previous article, "Wellness: Why Ergonomists Need to Get Involved (Reprint)," by Jill Kelby, has drawn a spirited response from Laura Punnett, Robert Henning and Nicholas Warren, ergonomists from The Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workforce (CPH-NEW). They argue, contrary to Kelby's assertion that ergonomics is being "co-opted" by "others", that they have been involved in the NIOSH Total Worker Health (TWH) program, and that they have "made it our responsibility to educate others within TWH about the field of ergonomics," and encourage others to join them.

Ergoweb's Peter Budnick reviews and offers his opinions on a recent report by The Future of Ergonomics Committee, under the direction of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA). The report summarizes a strategic initiative for the world-wide promotion of the ergonomics discipline and profession in order to reach global excellence in HFE (human factors and ergonomics). The report does a nice job of summarizing the field of ergonomics, and specifies numerous specific values we can and should produce.

In this article, reprinted from The Ergonomics Report, guest contributors Linda Miller and Lucy Hart provide an update on the emergence of ergonomics as a points category in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building rating system. Over a decade ago, a coalition of building industry leaders in the U.S. created building design and construction guidelines for the environmental assessment of buildings. The LEED Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based standard that evaluates the environmental performance of a building over its entire life cycle. The primary goal of LEED is to promote building practices that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy for its building occupants, and Miller and Hart explain how ergonomics is gaining a solid footing in the LEED rating system.

The Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics (BCPE) announces the hiring of Carol Stuart-Buttle, MS, CPE as its new Executive Director.