Ergonomics hitches a By Jessica Ellison and Danny Nou ride Recent trends show that more companies are focusing on sustainability, which emphasizes a balance between people, planet and profit, also called the triple bottom line. Other monikers for the trend include corporate social responsibility initiative and 3E, for equity, environment and economy. In addition, the workplace has changed, in part due to sustainability, because more employees work from home or telecommute. This leaves fewer people in the office. Even facility planning is different as companies aim to construct more LEED-certified buildings. LEED stands for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. LEED-certified buildings have lower operating costs, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and could qualify for tax rebates and zoning allowances. Backers of ergonomics programs need to start leveraging the momentum that is created by sustainability. Based on these industry trends, it is evident that there is tremendous global momentum in corporate sustainability and that ergonomics fits right into the people aspects of the people-planet-profit paradigm. Corporate ergonomists and ergonomics consultants understand the value of the work that they provide to a company. They understand that they help reduce injuries and decrease discomfort and, in the process, improve productivity, decrease lost work days, decrease workers compensation costs, improve morale and provide a variety of other positive impacts on the company s bottom line. However, challenges such as a lack of funding, not enough C-level (CEO, CFO, COO) attention and support, and government legislation have undermined the effectiveness of ergonomics programs. By integrating ergonomics into sustainability and repackaging successes from ergonomics programs, there is a huge opportunity for ergonomics professionals to capture attention in the boardroom. This visibility will help get programs and solutions funded and bring ergonomics into strategic boardroom discussions, which can result in more proactive programs. This will benefit not only employees but the triple bottom line of the company. Defining sustainability To understand ergonomics role in sustainability, it is important to understand what has become, in some ways, a catchall buzzword. Sustainability has been defined by many people. At the National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition in 2008, James Hagan provided a concise definition: Allowing future generations to have the same standard of living that we enjoy while improving the condition of the current generation. The key concepts of sustainability revolve around the 3Ps: people, planet and profit. The people part includes the ethics of how workers and the community are treated. It includes ideals such as human rights and avoiding child labor, and labor issues such as providing a workplace that minimizes 40 Industrial Engineer
For future success, link human engineering programs with the growing trend of sustainability safety and health hazards, all while valuing diversity and philanthropy. On the planet portion, we see businesses taking responsibility for the life cycles of their products, from the raw materials to stewardship in product use to ultimate disposal. There is an emphasis on reducing externalities (unintended costs) and minimizing resource use (water, electricity, gas and packaging). Finally, the profit section, which emphasizes jobs, growth, cost reduction and green products, can be improved by using fewer resources and creating less waste. It will stick around Sustainability is an important trend for ergonomists because it will be around for a long time. The concept of creating economic value through environmental and social impact has come to the forefront in businesses around the world. The green label has captivated corporate mindshare and corporate funding. On March 1, The Hedge Funds Review showed that more than $13 trillion have been invested globally in socially responsible companies that demonstrate strong sustainability practices. Investors are making an impact on the world by putting money into investments that are listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes or the FTSE4Good index series. Socially responsible investment funds like Calvert and Domini will buy shares only in socially responsible companies. This is affecting decisions in boardrooms around the world and driving change without resorting to the stick of regulation. September 2011 41
ergonomics hitches a ride Corporations are even restructuring to organize for sustainability. Many Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Verizon and Ikea have corporate sustainability officers (CSO) and/or vice presidents of sustainability, according to The New York Times. The website Green Business View noted that President Obama issued Executive Order No. 13514, which provides guidance to how government agencies are to Go Green, [and] the order calls for the installation of a sustainability officer or committee. The fact that sustainability is being given as much attention as the CEO, CFO or COO speaks to this movement s longevity. Corporate sustainability initiatives can provide many benefits to companies that voluntarily commit to the movement. The most obvious examples are the millions of dollars that have been saved. According to MSNBC, Wal-Mart has shown that by improving the fuel efficiency of its fleet by 1 mile per gallon it could save approximately $35 million to $50 million. GreenBiz.com reported that Alcoa has implemented an energy reduction strategy that already has realized $20 million in savings. In another example, the IRS won an award from Telework Exchange for a pilot telecommuting program of 150 participants that reported real estate savings of $585,000. After all, if people work from home, the organization does not even need to construct a building LEED-certified or not. In addition, companies are learning that practicing sustainability gives them a higher ability to recruit and retain top talent. A survey by MonsterTRAK.com showed that 92 percent of Generation Y employees (people born between 1977 and 2002) are more likely to work for an environmentally friendly company. And according to a USA 2008 Workplace Insight Survey, Generation Y workers are willing to sacrifice about 6 percent of their salary to work for a green company as opposed to a traditional one, reported Cosemindspring.com just last year. These are just a few of the benefits that companies practicing sustainability have reported, benefits that increase the popularity of 3E programs among the strongest and most successful businesses in today s market. Therefore, ergonomics programs that help fit within the sustainability movement can grow and have a wide ranging impact not only on the environment but on the corporate bottom line. Linking up with ergonomics Ergonomics has the ability to show value by having a direct and positive financial impact on a company s bottom line and affecting the lives of people by creating a more sustainable work environment. Ergonomists need to know how to market their programs internally and take advantage of the sustainability trend by making connections where they exist in both programs. These links can include people, corporate social responsibility reports, LEED certification and telecommuting programs. Various ergonomics associations offer plenty of information on how to achieve these goals. Link 1 the people: The most obvious link is between ergonomics and the sustainability component of people. Darryl C. Hill, current president of the American Society of Safety Engineers, has stated, Safety should be viewed as the cornerstone of the people component. In this context, sustainability means implementing and maintaining programs that keep people safe, facilities intact, communities protected, supply chains secure and the organization s mission uninterrupted. Sustainable organizations are, by definition, safe organizations, and we play a key role in ensuring that safety. Even the pure definition of ergonomics shows its link to people. For example, the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) defines ergonomics as follows: Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. Ergonomists contribute to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems in order to make them compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people. Some companies and organizations, including Xerox and Univar, have listed their commitment to safety on their external websites. Xerox states: Xerox creates safe and efficient products, maintains a safe workplace for our people, supports health and wellness programs and reduces injury and exposure to hazardous materials. People s safety is at the forefront of any good sustainability program because it protects a company s most valuable asset. Ergonomics works directly with people to help support a safe working environment, which enables companies to reduce injuries. Link 2 sustainability reports: Corporate sustainability responsibility reports show the results of such efforts within an organization. In addition to their energy efficiency and environmental and philanthropic achievements, many companies are reporting their ergonomics and employee wellness programs to increase corporate transparency and show the link between ergonomics and sustainability. Reporting corporate sustainability responsibility shows that businesses are concerned about public interest when they voluntarily eliminate practices that harm human health and the environment. Sometimes these practices are legal, but companies choose to eliminate them anyway. 42 Industrial Engineer
biofeedback precision To determine stress or pain levels, doctors, ergonomists and other professionals have to rely on the subject s self-analysis. By its very nature, asking people their pain level on a scale of one to 10 is subjective. Providing solid ergonomic solutions requires data that are as objective as possible. The winter 2010 issue of the journal Biofeedback describes a case study that used surface electromyography (SEMG) on pressmen working at a U.S. news publishing company. SEMG, a biofeedback instrument that measures muscle tension, assesses muscle function in a way that is objective and reproducible. The analysis identified excessive workplace injuries to the neck and shoulder, most commonly the right-side rotator cuff. Data was collected via two active electrodes placed parallel to the targeted muscles. Muscles studied included the left and right upper trapezius and the left and right lumbar paraspinals. Researchers targeted washing blanket cylinders, handling newsprint rolls and pre-drive belt positioning wheel adjustments. While washing blanket cylinders, for example, workers often put one hand on the control panel to manipulate buttons while reaching for the cylinder with the other hand. This awkward movement made the muscles work harder. One idea was to retrain the worker not to perform these tasks simultaneously. This let the employee perform the cleaning task less strenuously. A second solution was a metal pole about 4 feet long with two ergonomic handles and a cleaning head. This tool, combined with modified worker behavior, reduced strenuous muscle activity even more. Nintendo of America reported in its corporate sustainability responsibility report that it has an ergonomics task force focused on annual training and assessment of fixed and nonfixed workstations. On its corporate sustainability responsibility report, Hormel Foods noted that injury prevention was a key focus in its ergonomic programs. The company even went as far as showing the soft tissue incident rate and its steady decline year by year. There are more examples, but the clear message is that the link between companies sustainable programs and their ergonomic programs is that both focus on the employees and their well-being. Link 3 LEED certifications: Currently, more than 40,000 projects are participating in the commercial and institutional LEED rating systems. Organizations from all 50 states and 117 countries participate, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Interestingly, Alan Hedge, who is the director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory at Cornell University, is an IEA representative for environmental design and a Cornell Center for Sustainable Futures faculty fellow. He already has outlined a way to use ergonomics to get one point as an innovation in design or innovation in operations credit toward LEED certification. A good ergonomic design is one that creates and maintains a flexible ergonomic environment that properly accommodates building users and promotes healthy, comfortable and productive work. The requirement for this point involves the development and implementation of a comprehensive ergonomics strategy that will have a positive impact on human health and comfort when performing daily activity for at least 75 percent of full-time equivalent building users. In an email with Hedge in April, he noted that the next version of LEED is due at the end of November 2012. Office ergonomics is a separate line item credit point in the indoor environment section of the rating system, Hedge wrote. What is great for companies who already have an established ergonomics program is that they simply need to document their efforts and possibly make a few small changes in order to qualify for this point. This is a great opportunity for ergonomists to start getting involved in the design phase and become more strategic and proactive to prevent injury rather than reactively dealing with employees once they are injured This point further strengthens the role of ergonomics in supporting sustainability initiatives and focusing on environmental awareness. Link 4 telecommuting programs: Telecommuting is often a centerpiece of corporate sustainability programs. CNN Money s report on The best 100 companies to work for showed that 82 percent of these organizations allow employees to telecommute at least 20 percent of their time, and the top five have 80 percent to 86 percent of their workforce regularly telecommuting. These programs have been shown to reduce the carbon footprint of companies and increase productivity at the same time. September 2011 43
ergonomics hitches a ride The disadvantage of telecommuting is that the ergonomic risks for computer-based employees are the same as the risks that face employees in the corporate office. Many companies have not established a system to address the off-site ergonomic concerns, and some are struggling to devise cost-effective methods to address ergonomics in remote and home offices. However, regulations about workers compensation and rules from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the European Union still apply to those who work outside of the corporate office. Therefore, it is important for companies to establish programs that address ergonomics for workers in telecommuting programs. Some agencies and groups already are recommending that ergonomics be included in the telecommuting policy, including the Environmental Protection Agency, Telecommute Connecticut, Microsoft Business, the county of San Francisco and others. Link 5 ergonomic associations: The last point is that ergonomics associations such as the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) and IEA already see the link between ergonomics and sustainability and have established groups dedicated to integrating ergonomics into environmental design. The group for HFES, Environmental Design Technical Group, has an objective of fostering and encouraging the integration of ergonomics principles into the design of all built environments, according to its website. The group for IEA is the Human Factors and Sustainable Development Technical Committee, which is intended to build a powerful global network of experts in the fields of ergonomics/human factors and sustainability. The goal, again, is to bring ergonomics out of the reactionary mode and into the design stages of projects to reduce or eliminate risks prior to construction. The Global Organization of Ergonomics, GOErgo, offers other resources. Its Tools and Resources link at www.goergo.org offers viewers the chance to learn sustainable ways to apply ergonomics from case studies, Ergo Cup winners and videos of Applied Ergonomics Conference sessions. Future links This seems to be just the beginning of the link between ergonomics and sustainability. Other ideas where the link could be made include employee recruitment and retention. Organizations can publicize the fact that they make sure their employees have comfortable workstations that are designed with ergonomic principles in mind. Venues to announce this information include a company s corporate sustainability responsibility report, press releases and its website. Since ergonomists often recommend products that let humans work more efficiently and comfortably, we also should note the link between green goods and solid ergonomics. Be aware of company policy, expectations and the environmental impact of the purchases you recommend. The industrial engineering focus on lean manufacturing also links up well with ergonomics and sustainability. Ergonomics can improve cycle time and lean metrics, which in turn drive improved safety and profit. Today s market includes great technologies to help streamline the efficiency of ergonomics and sustainability programs, including solutions that help automate health and safety business processes, databases that maintain detailed information about a job s physical demand characteristics and other key attributes, and desktop software that helps mitigate repetitive strain injuries. In the future there may be an opportunity to bring these technologies together into one platform for ease of use, reporting and communication. For example, the tool may be able to assist home office workers in setting up their workstations ergonomically and help capture the true carbon footprint of the company by collecting data on the number of commute miles saved, along with energy and water use. Such information can help influence sustainable practices in the home. Ergonomics initiatives have many parallels with sustainability goals. The two can function effectively as an integrated program rather than two distinct policies. Ergonomists should start by making an effort to find out who is leading sustainability at their company. You can introduce yourself, share this article and discuss possible common goals. Some of the links above will intrigue sustainability leaders, and they will be interested in anything that will help support their goals. The industry is changing to a greener world, and sustainability offers a huge opportunity for ergonomists to assist sustainability efforts and reap the benefits of being allied with such a strong and well-funded movement. d Jessica Ellison is a principal consultant at Environmental and Occupational Risk Management (EORM). She is a certified professional ergonomist and certified safety professional. Ellison received her B.S. in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University and her M.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Davis. She has published articles in Professional Safety: The Journal of the American Society of Safety Engineers and the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics. She is a member of Remedy Interactive s Injury Prevention Council. Danny Nou is a consulting specialist at EORM. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in biological systems engineering from the University of California, Davis. He also was lead biomechanics researcher in the biomedical engineering department at Hokkaido University. 44 Industrial Engineer