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Office Ergonomic Assessor

This office ergonomic assessor class provides a step-by-step approach to conducting an office ergonomic task analysis. Employees, supervisors and managers will learn how to analyze and adapt jobs to make them safer and help employees understand how to work in ways that protect them from injury. This course is designed to be delivered to an organization with 6 to 8 persons attending on your site. Course is 8 hours in length.

Course Description

Today's office work environment is changing at an accelerated pace. New technologies have made offices more efficient and specialized, but these developments have also led to a rapid increase in employee complaints of back pain and cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs), such as tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Office ergonomic task analysis involves looking at how employees work and finding ways to adapt that work to avoid injuries. Ergonomic analysis is rooted in the science of ergonomics.
Ergonomics is the science that seeks to adapt tasks and tools to fit the person. It's a way of looking at the design of tasks, tools, equipment, workplace layouts, and the overall organization of work to fit the job to the person, rather than the person to the job.

By understanding how to analyze office tasks for potential ergonomic health hazards and how to create solutions to eliminate them, supervisors and managers can help employees work in ways that reduce the risk of CTDs, control the costs associated with those injuries, and increase everyone's safety.

Topics Include:

The Ergonomic Analysis Process

• Steps to a survey
• Written information
• Employee interviews
• Company organization

Observing and identifying risk factors
Observation Techniques
Eliminate Risk Factors

• Equipment solutions
• Work organization
• Brainstorming
• The Action Plan

Performance Objectives
Analyze survey information

• Identify patterns that indicate potential
   ergonomic-related problems.
• Analyze employee survey data.

Use an ergonomic assessment form

• Explain the purpose of an ergonomic assessment form.
• List the benefits of an ergonomic assessment form.
• Recall the risk factors affecting employee well-being.

Focus attention on causes of an ergonomic problem

• Define risk factors and "triggers.
• Recognize poor neck position.
• Evaluate visual comfort.

Develop ideas to eliminate risk factors

• Name common ways to eliminate risk factors.
• List examples of equipment solutions.
• Discuss the need to combine ergonomics and body    mechanics with employee styles and    comfort.
• Recommend ways to add movement to office workers
   who sit at a computer most of the day.
• State the benefits of changing from computer
   to non-computer tasks during the day.

Create an Action Plan

• Explain the purpose of an action plan.
• Describe the results of a completed action plan.

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