Every Friday we pass on a few health and safety articles we enjoyed throughout the week in a “Best of the Week” post.

If you’d like to get these links (and more) during the week, follow @ErgoPlus on Twitter.

Injury Prevention Links

Workplace Use of Back Belts, Review and Recommendations — NIOSH
This 33-page PDF document is a review of the evidence of the effectiveness of back belts to reduce injury risk by a NIOSH Working Group. The overall conclusion of the Working Group was that the use of back belts to lessen risk of back injury among uninjured workers remains unproven. The Working Group recommends that the most effective means of minimizing the likelihood of back injuries is to implement a comprehensive ergonomics program.

Ergonomics for Business, in Business Terms
Ergonomics adds value to organizations in many ways — in health and safety, productivity and quality to name a few. In order to achieve broader acceptance and adoption of comprehensive ergonomics intiatives, this article on ErgoWeb gives the advice to communicate how ergonomics adds value to the business in the language of business.

What is Total Worker Health?
The Total Worker Health model of injury prevention and human performance championed by NIOSH integrates occupational safety and health protection with health promotion to prevent injuries and promote health and well-being. Learn more about Total Worker Health and get free tools and resources from this page on the CDC website.

Wash, Wipe and Sanitizee Your Way to a Healthier Workplace
This post on ASSE’s EHS Works blog provides a 3-step “Hygienify Routine” to help combat germs in the workplace — Wash, Wipe and Sanitize your way to a healthier workplace.

8 Fundamental Ergonomic Principles for Better Work Performance
This week on the Ergonomics Plus blog, we detailed eight principles of ergonomics to help you start seeing the world through “ergo eyes.” Once you develop an eye for ergonomics, you’ll never want to go back.