The prevention of slips, trips and falls are a nearly forgotten part of an ergonomists improvement opportunities. In this article, Peter Budnick summarizes a recent study of slips/trips/falls in an aircraft manufacturing facility, using it to demonstrates and promote the critical safety and cost improvement role ergonomics can and should play in reducing or eliminating their occurrence.

Peter Budnick reviews the new international ergonomics standard, ISO 26800:2011, "Ergonomics -- General approach, principles and concepts." Recognizing the challenges in developing and publishing any standard dealing with ergonomics, Budnick concludes, "I'm sure we could pick this standard apart word-by-word and debate a few things, but I'm happy to report that it is a concise high level introduction to the basics of human-centered design (ergonomics) ..."

An recent journal article published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise presents a simple method to determine the metabolic demands of sustained physical exertions in field or work environments. This new approach may have application in assessing work tasks that require cardiovascular endurance, and may become important with an aging and increasingly overweight and frail workforce.

Contributor Gene Kay, MS has written about an emerging phenomena called metabolic syndrome, or in the popular literature, sitting disease. The article summarizes some relevant articles and provides some suggestions for what we can do as ergonomics practitioners.