Smarter is better.
In many ways that is what ergonomics is all about. It’s about working smarter, not harder. It’s about finding a smarter, safer, more efficient way to build a product. And it’s about a smarter interaction between the work environment and the worker.
With that said, here are two new (and free) resources we’ve added to our growing resource center to help you add more tools to your ergonomics toolbelt in order to take advantage of the ergonomics opportunity for your company.
1. Industrial Ergonomic Design Checklist
Although evaluating and improving existing work task and process design is important, certainly the most cost-effective approach to workplace ergonomics is to establish a robust proactive program.
Our industrial ergonomic design checklist is designed to help engineers and those involved in process design evaluate what is needed and should be considered for a good ergonomic workstation design.
Download the Ergonomic Design Checklist
2. How to Cost-Justify Ergonomic Improvements
Many ergonomic improvements can be implemented with low capital expenditures.
However, when an ergonomic improvement requires a larger capital expenditure, cost can become a barrier to implementation.
In these situations, it’s important to make a compelling business case for the ergonomic improvement using cost justification to prove a return on investment (ROI).
To help quantify the value of ergonomics, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries developed a very useful cost-benefit calculator. The calculator allows you to compare up to three ergonomic improvement options, and estimates the benefits and payback periods for each option.
We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to using the calculator to provide cost-justification for your large ergonomic improvement projects.
