Every week, we scour the internet for the best new OHS articles and resources (so you don’t have to), and share what we find in a “Best of the Week” post.

Ergonomics Articles

1. Back Safety and Lifting Techniques 
Whether at home or work, lifting is part of our daily actions. Unfortunately, more than one million workers suffer back injuries each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Teaching proper lifting techniques and modifying tasks to eliminate or reduce the physical demands of lifting can dramatically reduce the risk of injury

2. NIOSH Manual Material Handling Checklist
This manual material handling checklist from NIOSH can be used as a tool to quickly identify problem jobs for further ergonomic assessment.

3. Ergonomics: Benefits Beyond Injury Reduction 
Ergonomics encompasses more than just worker safety. In fact, the science of ergonomics goes beyond adjusting workstation components to better fit the user, and also plays a vital role in organization-wide transformation initiatives.

4. At VA Hospitals, Training and Technology Reduces Nurses’ Injuries 
As NPR reported in their investigative series Injured Nurses, nursing employees suffer more debilitating back and other injuries than almost any other occupation — and they get those injuries mainly from doing the everyday tasks of lifting and moving patients. The solution? Ergonomics.

5. Free Workplace Athlete Handout — Team Lifting Guidelines 
When loads exceed the NIOSH Lifting Equation Recommended Weight Limit (RWL), implementation of risk factor controls is necessary. The first line of defense for heavy manual lifting risk is to implement engineering controls. However, there may be occasions when this is not possible or an interim solution is needed until engineering controls can be applied. In these cases, implementing an administrative control to require team lifting of heavy loads may become necessary.