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January 3, 2012
Find out what topics were accessed the most by Ergoweb's 280,000 web site visitors in 2011. At the close of each year we review the previous year's web site statistics to learn what topics drew the most attention. We're always surprised -- and sometimes even dismayed -- by what we learn. These were the most read Ergoweb articles and discussions in 2011 ...
December 13, 2011
We previously reported that the start of enforcement for California's new Safe Patient Handling law, AB 1136, Hospital Patient and Health Care Worker Injury Protection Act, would not occur until January 2013. However, that was incorrect; the actual enforcement start date is January 1, 2012, just weeks from now. In this article, Peter Budnick revisits AB 1136, correcting the start date error, reviewing several points of confusion in the language of the law, and provides a concise, point-by-point summary of the law's key requirements.
December 13, 2011
Musculoskeletal Disorders are among the leading causes of morbidity among working aged adults and armed service members. The most common cause for medical evacuation in the Iraq war was an MSD, and MSDs are also quite common in basic training. Functional Movement Screening (FMS) is thought by many to offer a new paradigm for predicting MSDs. This study is the first large scale to test the predictive validity of this hypothesis, and the results indicate FMS is not a reliable predictor of future injury.
December 6, 2011
This article, which was originally published in The Ergonomics Report, reviews the evolution of an ergonomics process that was developed and promoted internally by Keith Osborne, a Honeywell HSE specialist. The process took some years to build, and Osborne shares how he won early successes that were used to gain management support and grow the benefits and value of ergonomics, and how he leveraged success to continuously improve and grow the process. The program now produces a significant ROI, helped gain the site OSHA VPP Star status, and has been adopted as a Honeywell best practice.
November 17, 2011
The Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics (BCPE), the premier certification body for professional ergonomics, is seeking a part-time Executive Director. The Executive Director will be responsible for the successful leadership and management of the BCPE.
November 15, 2011
A team of researchers from India performed a study looking at various associations between body mass index BMI, musculoskeletal discomfort, and occupational stress among computer workers. Their results add to the growing understanding that being overweight can have a significant effect on musculoskeletal discomfort and occupational stress measures.
November 10, 2011
Job announcement -- Cintas is looking for an Ergonomist to identify musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risks throughout all Cintas business divisions -- apply now.
November 10, 2011
Radin Zaid Radin Umar is the winner of the 2011 Dieter W. Jahns Student Practitioner Award. Mr. Radin Umar, a student at Ohio State University, is the second recipient of the Dieter W. Jahns Student Practitioner Award.
November 9, 2011
Ergoweb has tracked attempts to pass a safe patient handling regulation in the US State of California since 2004. After multiple vetoes over the years, a safe patient handling law, AB 1136, was singed into law by the governor on October 7, 2011. The law will take effect in January 2012, with enforcement beginning in 2013. Guest contributor Charissa Shaw gives us a brief overview of the law and its legal requirements.