Ergonomics training is one of the most essential elements of an effective ergonomics process.  After all, the success of your ergonomics process hinges on your team’s ability to find and fix the ergonomics problems in your work environment.

The effectiveness of your team will depend on how well they are trained and (most importantly) the skills they gain during the ergonomics training process.

Who should be trained in ergonomics?

The word ergonomics comes from the Greek word “ergon” which means work and “nomos” which means laws. It’s the science of work. Good ergonomic design removes incompatibilities between the work and the worker and creates the optimal work environment. This allows you to efficiently create the best product possible.

Who do you think should be responsible for creating the best product (or delivering the best service) possible?

If you’re thinking that should be everyone’s job, you’re right. Everyone at your company is responsible for the ergonomics process, and everyone needs the knowledge and tools to successfully execute their role in the process and meet their responsibilities. This goes for the CEO and leadership team all the way down the organization to the team members out on the shop floor.

Ergonomics training should be approached from this high-level perspective and given adequate time, attention and resources. Without these things, you won’t get the results you’re looking for and you’ll be missing out on a tremendous opportunity for your organization.

Ergonomics process roles and responsibilities

Ergonomics training content should be segmented based on the roles and responsibilities assigned for each group throughout your facility.

Role: Plant management and leadership

• Responsibilities:
  • Regularly communicate and demonstrate management’s leadership and commitment to the ergonomics process.
  • Provide authorization of adequate resources.
• Ergonomics training content:
  • The primary objective for this training is to obtain management sponsorship for the ergonomics and MSD prevention process. Focus on high level aspects of the program, the OHS and business goals you will achieve, roles and responsibilities, and how every team member will be held accountable.

Role: Safety, ergonomics team

• Responsibilities:
  • Identify ergonomic risk factors through a systematic ergonomic risk assessment process
  • Investigate, prioritize and develop solutions for ergonomic improvement opportunities that have been identified
  • Assist in ergonomics communication and education to all employees
  • Ensure new job tasks and processes are designed with ergonomics in mind
• Ergonomics training content:
  • Training for the ergonomics team is about transferring critical ergonomics knowledge and real world skills. These team members have the greatest responsibility to lead the process from risk identification to implementing control measures to verifying success.

Role: Engineering, facilities staff

• Responsibilities:
  • Work closely with the safety/ergonomics team to identify ergonomic risk factors, develop solution recommendations with cost-justification support, and implement solutions
  • Consider ergonomics in new jobs, tasks and equipment design
• Ergonomics training content:
  • Engineering and facilities staff should work closely with the ergonomics team (and preferably should be represented on the ergonomics team). Take a quantitative approach during these training sessions, focusing on ergonomic design principles and risk assessment methods.

Role: Supervisors

• Responsibilities:
  • Implement and direct ergonomics process within area of responsibility
  • Encourage early reporting of fatigue and discomfort
  • Observe workers, be alert to non-verbal discomfort cues, and take a proactive approach to ask employees if they are experiencing any difficulty
• Ergonomics training content:
  • Ergonomics training content for supervisors should focus on the benefits and objective of the ergonomics process. Supervisors should come away with a clear understanding of how they will support the ergonomics process and how crucial their role is in engaging all team members in this process.

Role: Employees

• Responsibilities:
  • Report early signs and symptoms of discomfort to department supervisors
  • Identifying potential ergonomic risk factors
  • Provide suggestions for controlling ergonomic risk factors
• Ergonomics training content:
  • Training objectives for ergonomics awareness training for employees should encourage identification of ergonomic problems at the workstation level. Employees are the real workplace improvement experts. An engaging ergonomics training session will encourage them to participate in the ergonomics process and make their life a little easier on a daily basis.

Ergonomics training best practices

Know your audience

Great training content always begins with understanding your audience. Each training session should be customized for the roles and responsibilities of your training session audience. (See roles and responsibilities above.) Before you create your training content, make sure you’ve put in the time to understand your audience to ensure you’re helping them meet their responsibilities.

Be hands on

The most effective training uses all the senses to affect learning. Make sure you demonstrate and apply teaching points to create greater understanding and knowledge of the subject. If you can, head out to the shop floor for a practical example or bring an example into the classroom for a hands-on experience. This type of training will help attendees’ memory retention and improve their ability to deal with a real world situation.

Be clear on roles and responsibilities

Above all else, don’t let ergonomics training attendees leave the room if they aren’t clear on their personal role and responsibility in the process. Take it one step further and demonstrate the importance of their role and how it ties into the goal of your ergonomics process. All attendees should be regularly reminded of their role and what the action plan is moving forward.

Get feedback and improve

Gather feedback after each training session and always work to get better. An employee survey is a fantastic tool to get feedback on your training sessions. Strive to improve both your training content and delivery.

Ergonomics training mistakes to avoid

Mistake #1 – Lack of credibility

When you walk into the room, your past actions are walking in with you. It is vitally important that you live out every day what you are about to teach in the classroom. The best ergonomics training is delivered by the best ergonomics expert. Credibility is huge – don’t take this lightly.

Mistake #2 – Boring presentations

Let’s face it; ergonomics training isn’t as exciting as the latest Jason Bourne action movie. But just because it isn’t all that exciting doesn’t mean you can’t approach it with a positive and enthusiastic attitude. You set the tone for the training session, so make sure you’re the most enthusiastic person in the room even if the audience doesn’t respond the way you had hoped.

Mistake #3 – Not being hands on

Classroom training is important, but practical application of learning material is where knowledge is ingrained into the person and real progress is made. Follow up formal classroom training sessions with one-on-one time out on the shop floor or office workstation. Knowledge is great, but skills development for the real world is an essential element of an effective ergonomics process.

Mistake #4 – One and done

The statistics on memory retention are disappointing for trainers. Sadly, much of what you teach in the classroom will be forgotten. For this reason, it is important that training doesn’t stop once you leave the classroom doors. Ongoing classroom sessions (as well as the hands-on application training described above) will allow the training content and core learning objectives to sink in over time.

Mistake #5 – Phoning it in

Don’t phone it in! Using the same stale PowerPoint presentation over and over again is a surefire way to go nowhere. Be passionate about continuously improving your ergonomics training skills. Gather feedback on your training program and always work to get better. An employee survey is a fantastic tool to get feedback on your training sessions. Strive to improve both your training content and delivery.