Ergoweb's Peter Budnick and ErgoAdvocate's Gene Kay will make a series of presentations at the Applied Ergonomics Conference, to be held in Nashville, TN, March 26-29, 2012. The companies will also participate as exhibitors.
Budnick will begin with a 1/2 day, Monday morning pre-conference workshop, presented on behalf of the Foundation for Professional Ergonomics (ergofoundation.org), for which he serves as a volunteer Director. The workshop, "Preparing for the Certified Professional Ergonomist Exam," will help individuals be better prepared to sit for a BCPE certification exam.
Budnick will also present as a Featured Speaker on Thursday at 10:00 am. His presentation, "Global Ergonomics and the Wired World: Challenges and Opportunities", will draw on his experiences with web-enabled systems and professional collaboration networks; sharing examples of successes and failures in their use; reflecting on the necessity and application of such “electronic ergonomics” applications as they relate to the size and complexity of an organization; and close with a broad view that considers the impact of these technologies on global ergonomics, including his experiences with the non-profit Ergonomists Without Borders project.
Budnick will also participate as a panelist in an 8:00 am Thursday Master Track session, "Risk Assessment Tools," where he and other panelists will discuss the use and misuse of existing risk assessment tools, their reliability and new tools.
Kay will present twice at the conference. At 1:30 pm Wednesday session, he will present "Conventional Wisdom VS Current Ergonomics Thinking," where attendees will learn biological evidence arguing against several persistent myths about proper workstation set up. Examples include the strong belief that the monitor must be placed at eye-level, and in the case of neck pain, the monitor needs to go even higher. Or the belief that the 90-90-90 upright seated posture is the one correct way to sit. In many cases clear scientific evidence supports changing this rigid outdated thinking. Attend to learn better ways of working; about the sweet-spot for visual work; and learn how to reduce spinal loading and compression while seated.
Kay's second presentation, "Office Inactivity and the “Sitting Disease” Tsunami," will occur on Thursday during the 10:00 am session. Metabolic syndrome has been called "sitting disease" in the popular literature. This session will explore the twin epidemics of obesity and inactivity in western society, conditions that are expected to cause considerable impacts to health care expenses. Attendees will learn about population studies showing that extensive sitting causes a 50% increased risk of early death, and Kay will discuss the basic causes and physiology of "sitting disease" as well as a number of approaches that can be used to mitigate the potential impact of these concerns.
About Ergoweb® and ErgoAdvocate®
Ergoweb, Inc. has been known as “The Place for Ergonomics™” since 1995, bringing trust, credibility and commitment to the ergonomics market. Through its world-renowned one-stop-ergonomics web site, www.ergoweb.com, clients can research, collaborate with others, and purchase a wide variety of ergonomics-related goods and services, including industrial job assessment software, online and in-person training, industry publications, and a catalog of ergonomically designed products for business and consumers (through it's partner company Ergobuyer®, www.ergobuyer.com)
ErgoAdvocate, LLC is a recently launched joint venture between Ergoweb and Gene Kay, the developer of the ErgoAdvocate office ergonomics ergonomics program management solution, a sophisticated enterprise-wide training, assessment, self-help, and program management system for large employers. Learn more and request a demo at www.ErgoAdvocate.com.