Welcome to the Ergoweb® Learning Center
Our passion is to help companies and individuals succeed by delivering sustainable ergonomics solutions that not only reduce employee risk, but also increase productivity and deliver a higher quality product. With that in mind, we created this learning center to offer our visitors solutions and resources that maximize their health and well being.
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October 28, 2014
The following list of University based academic programs was compiled in 2014 by Ergoweb intern Shweta Agarwal. She compiled this information based on voluntary contributions from the Universities, so if a University did not contribute their listing information, Shweta was unable to include them in the list below.
July 29, 2014
German researchers investigated the effects of seated work vs. a mix of seated and standing work on physical and psychological complaints and on data entry performance. They found improvements in musculoskeletal comfort and mood when subjects varied working postures between sitting and standing, as compared to sitting only, with small effects on data entry performance.
June 3, 2014
Delivering comprehensive ergonomics services to large or distributed office populations is challenging, time consuming and very expensive. Sending qualified ergonomics professionals is often difficult to arrange, […]
April 16, 2014
Ergoweb's Peter Budnick details his views on the emerging debates surrounding the relationships between ergonomics, a field he believes is fairly well defined, and wellness, a concept that is not well defined, though intuitively appealing. "Ergonomics and wellness complement each other, but they are not one and the same," he concludes.
January 6, 2014
Hal Hendrick wrote "The Ergonomics of Economics is the Economics of Ergonomics" over 17 years ago, and it remains very relevant today. Peter Budnick reviews the article, including a summary of many ergonomics ROI examples Hendrick collected. As Hendrick said in 1996, "... I know of no profession where so small a group of professionals has such a tremendous potential for truly making a difference ... for virtually every person on this globe."
December 20, 2013
You must understand the basic principles of human-friendly design to evaluate or design workplace equipment. There are no shortcuts or simple tips that replace a firm […]
March 13, 2013
Common wisdom says we should lift with our legs, not our backs. Some companies mistakenly base much of their ergonomics strategy on training employees to "lift with your legs." This research study sheds light on why many people typically don't lift with their knees, and instead use a back-lift strategy. In this article, reprinted from The Ergonomics Report, study reviewer Peter Budnick offers his thoughts on how companies can apply this new knowledge.
January 10, 2013
Reprinted from a 2002 issue of The Ergonomics Report: Any team presented with a big project that seemingly becomes more and more complex might groan at the prospect of putting ergonomics into the mix. But with a Six Sigma project, ergonomics neither conflicts with nor takes resources from other management or process systems that may already be implemented within a company. Instead it adds to the proper execution of the Six Sigma process. Authors: Jeanie Croasmun, Rachel Michael. Contributors: Ben Zavitz, Mike Wynn.
January 9, 2013
Following up on his popular Participatory Ergonomics webinar, Peter Budnick further discusses the importance of Respect for People in Continuous Improvement systems like Lean, arguing that it's impossible to achieve Operational Excellence without Ergonomics, and that Ergonomists can play a valuable leadership and participation role in such initiatives. He illustrates the importance of Respect for People with examples from his work with Ergonomists Without Borders, and also shares his slides and a recording of the webinar for interested readers.
April 10, 2012
On March 21, 2012, Ergoweb held a webinar titled "Improving Outcomes -- Office Ergonomics Success Stories." Attendees asked many questions -- far too many to answer during the webinar -- so we've compiled and answered the questions in this article, including laptops vs. desktops, how to convince management to invest in ergonomics, budgeting, liability, costs, ROI, sit-stand, chairs and more.
August 2, 2011
This article, reprinted from The Ergonomics Report, summarizes an internal corporate study of 6200 financial services call center staff found that over a three-year period employees in non-adjustable workstations had 5-times more injuries and 20 times more Worker Compensation injury costs, as compared to employees in user-adjustable workstations. Furthermore, the non-adjustable workstations had higher costs associated with routine moves and making ergonomic adjustments.
May 20, 2002
Test your occupational ergonomics knowledge by answering the following questions taken from Ergoweb's Computer Based Ergonomics Training Course.
June 9, 2010
This week's Ergonomics Roundup, including an OSHA focus on the hospitality industry, and Hispanic housekeepers in particular, claims that OSHA is facilitating union organizing in that industry by using ergonomics enforcement tactics, and ergonomic guitars / guitar making.
June 2, 2010
OSHA has a long history with ergonomics. This article revisits that history and reviews recent comments from OSHA officials that suggest where the agency is headed. Will there be a new attempt to promulgate an "ergonomics standard?" Where does OSHA's aggressive pursuit of the new Injury and Illness Prevention Program standard fit in?
March 10, 2010
A summary of ergonomics in the news, including the political debate surrounding OSHA's proposal to reinstate an MSD recordkeepong column on the OSHA 300 Log; ergonomics and human factors engineering that improves patient safety and healthcare performance, Bill Stumpf and Julia Child on kitchen ergonomics, and healthy vision in the workplace.
February 16, 2010
Analysis of multi-year data recorded on the OSHA 300 logs from 50 large hotels reveals a picture of injury risk related to job, gender, and race/ethnicity.
February 10, 2010
A new political battle is brewing as OSHA seeks comments on it's proposed musculoskeletal disorder recordkeeping rules. This debate will have a significant impact on the practice and profession of ergonomics. This article provides insight into the coming debate, and serves as a call to action for all who are interested in the future of ergonomics.
February 2, 2010
A summary of ergonomics in the news, including, including: Poultry Industry Successes; Chair Controversy; iPad and Gesturing; New OSHA and NIOSH Resources; Michigan Ergo Standard; Laparoscopic Surgeon MSD Concerns
January 25, 2012
RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) is an assessment method often discussed and applied by occupational ergonomists. In this article, reprinted from The Ergonomics Report Archives, Ergoweb's Peter Budnick reviews the popular method, recognizing its strengths, but also noting that it has limitations and can be -- and perhaps often is -- horribly misapplied, misrepresented, and misinterpreted without adequate training, experience, and professional perspective.
June 4, 2002
I hear about stretching exercise programs being used as an ergonomics intervention, and it causes me to pause. Is a program based on stretching exercises really an effective and valid ergonomics approach? My answer is "no," for two reasons.
December 26, 2001
The creation of control options depends on the experience and imagination of the analyst. Although specific solutions vary, there is a standard thought process that can be applied.
August 29, 2001
I hear about stretching exercise programs being used as an ergonomics intervention, and it causes me to pause. Is a program based on stretching exercises really an effective and valid ergonomics approach? My answer is "no," for two reasons.