The producers of the National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition will launch The First Annual Eastern Ergonomics Conference and Exposition June 25th-27th at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The conference is being held in response to demand from ergonomics professionals who were unable to attend last December’s National Ergonomics Conference.
Content for the Eastern Ergonomics Conference was developed with guidance from attendees of the popular National Ergonomics Conference. Conference attendees at the most recent NECE were surveyed about which sessions they would most like to see updated and presented again. According to Walter Charnizon, President of Continental Exhibitions, “We have combined updates of the most highly regarded sessions from the NECE with a variety of brand new sessions to offer an outstanding program, well-targeted at the ergonomics professional looking to make immediate improvements in productivity, product quality and workplace health and safety.”
The Conference has four tracks of programming including Program Management, Office Ergonomics, Industrial Ergonomics, and Materials Handling/Special Topics. Some of the sessions include: Lessons Learned Implementing Ergonomics in Industry; New Approaches in the Automotive Industry; Evaluating and Controlling Ergonomics Risk Factors; Building an Office Ergonomics Program that Improves Safety and Productivity; and Ergonomics, an Essential Business Element.
A Keynote Address, titled “Successful Ergonomics in Challenging Economic Times: AOL’s Story.” will be presented by Dawn Langer, Ergonomics Manager for America Online. Other companies represented include Verizon, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, General Motors, United Parcel Service and the New York Times.
Dr. Peter Budnick, Ph.D., CPE, President and CEO of Ergoweb Inc., will be making several presentations on topics including ergonomics standards and regulations, identifying risk factors for the development of MDSs, and the ergonomics of pushing and pulling wheeled equipment.
Dr. Bob Fox, Ph.D. will also present at the conference. He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and has worked at the General Motors North American Operations Manufacturing Ergonomics Lab since late 1993. As a member of the GMVO Manufacturing Ergonomics Lab, he works with divisions and plants on addressing proactive ergonomics concerns and in developing and issuing ergonomics guidelines and evaluation tools and techniques.
Continuing a focus on material handling, Dr. Fox will speak about the human-cart interface such as handle height; initial and sustained forces; legacy of human powered vehicles; whole-body pulling/pushing; recommended design features; measurement of forces; acceptable forces; and a suggested approach to assess job handling multiple carts. He will also speak about an emerging trend in the automotive industry called dolly exchange. Dolly exchange has seen materials once moved by trucks, now moved by dolly carts with human operators.
Regarding the conference, Dr. Fox told Ergoweb, “I’m pleased to be there and anxious to share with the groups some of the lessons and insights that we’ve learned in the automotive industry as we’ve investigated carts and dolly exchange.”
In addition to attending the Eastern Ergonomics Conference, Ergoweb Inc. is also a sponsor of the new event.
“We’re pleased to see the launch of another conference and exposition that focuses on applied ergonomics, and have stepped forward as a sponsor for this new event,” said Budnick.
For more information about this conference visit www.ergoexpo.com.