Human Factors and Ergonomics

Discovering the Root of Your Back Story: Understanding and Preventing Back Injuries

About the Webinar:

Back injuries are one of the most common forms of farm-related injuries. Protecting the back is vital for producers to stay active on the farm. Men and women are both prone to work-related back pain, with the first episode typically occurring between the ages of 20 and 40. This webinar will focus on effects of whole body vibration (WBV), causes of back injuries/pain, and how to prevent back injuries/pain.

Exoskeleton Use: Perspectives and Challenges based on a National Survey of Construction Workers

About the Webinar:

Construction workers continue to experience high rates of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), with the back and shoulder being the most impacted body regions. Exoskeletons are wearable devices that support the physical capacity of the wearer and offer a promising and innovative approach to reduce WMSD risks, expand accessibility to construction jobs, and enhance performance. This webinar will explore survey data collected from stakeholders in construction on the perceived benefits, barriers, and facilitators of adoption.

Using Anthropometry, Biomechanics, and Usability to Inform Product Design

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This presentation will cover how anthropometric, biomechanical, and subjective methods can be used to inform product design and/or compare competing product designs.

The Impact of a Scope Stand on Biomechanical Exposures During Simulated Colonoscopies

About the Webinar:

Endoscopists have a high incidence and severity of musculoskeletal pain and injury relative to other medical specialists. This lecture will review recent research regarding the quantification of physical exposures while performing colonoscopies and present an evaluation of a new device designed to mitigate such exposures.

Seat Bolster Design and Discomfort in Agricultural Equipment

About the Webinar:

This webinar will examine discomfort related to the design of seat bolsters in agricultural machinery and the scope of an upcoming research study on this topic. This is an under served segment, with little research quantifying the impact of seat bolsters. Learners will explore background information, study design, subjective measurements including the Automotive Seating Discomfort Questionnaire (ASDQ) and the Nordic Questionnaire, and objective measurements including pressure mean and max taken from a seat pan pressure map, and pressure gradient data...

Lean Ergonomics: It's an Efficiency Issue

About the Webinar:

This webinar will review a brief history of the Toyota Production System, the foundation for the University of Kentucky, True Lean Program. Learners will explore the core tenants of True Lean, and how to systematically merge the four categories of risk factors to create measurable process improvement.

Minnesota's Safe Patient Handling Act: Policy, Practice, and Research

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This session presented by the University of Minnesota and Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry will provide a history of the Minnesota Safe Patient Handling Act, a law designed to protect health care workers from injuries caused by lifting and transferring patients. Learners will explore results from a policy evaluation that measured changes in patient handling injuries before and after the law was enacted. The evaluation also identified characteristics of nursing homes with high injury rates and assessed whether the effects of the law were...

Fatigue, Sleep, and the Consequences of Adverse Work Schedules

About the Webinar:

Adverse work schedules can compromise sleep, leading to fatigue that results in decreased capabilities and increased risk of injury, errors, and vehicle crashes. In this webinar we will explore the factors that constitute an adverse work schedule, what jobs and industries are affected most, the best research on this topic, how to predict the impact of any given work schedule, and what can be done to mitigate the impact of adverse work schedules.

Fatigue in the Workplace: Effects on Health and Performance and Measurement Considerations

About the Webinar:

A leading cause of non-fatal work injuries is overexertion and bodily reaction. What is less understood is the role fatigue plays as a contributing factor. Fatigue in the workplace is a multidimensional process that results in diminished worker performance and is often under appreciated and unrecognized. Reducing the incidence of fatigue-induced workplace injuries and lost productivity depends on accurate and timely detection to allow for appropriate intervention. This webinar will present an overview of worker fatigue and how it may be defined,...

Emerging Technologies: The Future of Ergonomics

About the Webinar:

The field of ergonomics is rapidly changing. Emerging technologies such as exoskeletons, wearable sensors, computer-vision, artificial intelligence, and virtual and augmented reality are being integrated into how companies & ergonomists provide services. From design, to training, to assessments, to solution implementation, these new technologies can help companies optimize business performance. This presentation will provide a “high-level” overview of this topic and will provide some insights into the future of our field of ergonomics (from a...