Sustaining your ergonomics process over time is the secret to achieving world-class health and safety outcomes. Learn the four steps you need to take in order to have a sustainable ergonomics process.
If you asked me, “What is the most important part of ergonomics?” my answer might surprise you: compounding.
Compounding is not intuitive but it is where the magic happens.
Michael Batnick once explained it like this: “If I ask you to calculate 8+8+8+8+8+8+8+8+8 in your head, you can do it in a few seconds (it’s 72). If I ask you to calculate 8x8x8x8x8x8x8x8x8, your head will explode (it’s 134,217,728).”
For another example, let’s take a look at Morgan Housel’s counterintuitive analysis of the success of Warren Buffett:
$80.7 billion of Warren Buffett’s $81 billion net worth was accumulated after his 50th birthday. $78 billion of the $81 billion came after he qualified for Social Security, in his mid-60s. So 99% of Buffett’s net worth came after his 50th birthday, and 97% came after he turned 65.
As Housel says, “More than 2,000 books are dedicated to how Warren Buffett built his fortune. Many of them are wonderful. But few pay enough attention to the simplest fact: Buffett’s fortune isn’t due to just being a good investor, but being a good investor since he was literally a child.”
His point is that the vast majority of returns are the result of compounding and the key ingredient of compounding is time. I’ve found this to be true not just in investing but across many domains, including ergonomics.
How can your ergonomics process survive the test of time? That’s a question worth your time and consideration.
If you view ergonomics as a continuous improvement process, if you can sustain it over time, if you can make your worksite just 1% better every day … then you give compounding a chance to work its magic. The returns on your endurance can compound into something pretty spectacular.
Sustain ergonomics by aligning with a continuous improvement process
With over three decades of experience, we can tell you that it is nearly impossible to have a sustainable ergonomics process if you do not view it as a highly valuable continuous improvement process.
It is critically important to align your ergonomics process with a continuous improvement framework familiar to your organization. The ErgoPlus System, for example, is aligned with the Shewhart Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act):
- Establish (Plan): Establish the mission and vision for ergonomics, set objectives, document policies and procedures.
- Execute (Do): Execute the core ergonomics tactics: Train your team, assess risk, plan and make improvements, measure progress.
- Evaluate (Check): Evaluate progress toward the objectives.
- Enhance (Act): Enhance the management system based on key learnings.
There are several other frameworks out there, Six Sigma (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) being another popular one. The framework you choose is flexible. The important part is that you choose one and commit to it.
This is the one thing you absolutely need to get right. Without being aligned to a continuous improvement process, your ergonomics process will be substantially weaker and less resilient to changes in management, attitudes, emotions, budget, and a host of other reasons ergonomics programs can fizzle out.
Sustainable ergonomics
Sustaining your ergonomics process over time is the secret to preventing musculoskeletal disorders and achieving world-class health and safety outcomes. None of the steps involved are difficult on their own. None of them are out of your reach.
The difference between average and world-class ergonomics programs is endurance. The biggest question in ergonomics is, “can you sustain your ergonomics process over time?”
Stay tuned for this series on sustainable ergonomics …
Upcoming articles in this series on sustainable ergonomics are going to provide more detail and step-by-step guidance on how to implement and sustain an ergonomics process at your worksite, so stay tuned.
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Need help?
If you’d prefer more help than we can provide in a series of articles, we’d be happy to chat! We have over 30 years of institutional experience helping clients implement sustainable ergonomics programs. Just get in touch and we’ll schedule an introductory call to see if it makes sense to work together.
