Successful strategies for developing an award winning office ergonomics program

摘要

Seattle City Light is a major public power utility located in Seattle, Washington. Seattle City Light's office ergonomics program was established in 1993 and includes a comprehensive continuous improvement process integrated throughout the utility. This paper describes successful Office Ergonomic Strategies implemented at Seattle City Light using limited resources. City Light's ergonomics approach includes customizing ergonomic solutions based on anthropometric measurements and specific job functions. Ergonomic evaluations include a detailed review of reported symptoms and essential job tasks. As a result of each evaluation several healthy ergonomic options are offered to each employee. The primary ergonomic strategy has been to create appropriate ergonomic choices so the final choice and outcome incorporates employee responsibility. This creates program flexibility within the framework of sound ergonomic principles and enables employees to make healthy choices and be a key part of their own ergonomic solutions. Several protocols for measuring cost benefit and cost avoidance impact of this program were developed and implemented including the use of customized evaluation forms, symptom surveys implemented before and after ergonomic evaluations, and a database to track ergonomic recommendations, modifications, and results. Follow-up ergonomic surveys indicate that 92% of symptomatic employees experience significant improvement in reported symptoms with simple ergonomic improvements. Results include a positive impact on minimizing cumulative injuries through prevention and timely intervention, as well as improvements in employee moral and work efficiency. Between 1996 and 1997 Seattle City Light began to realize sizeable decreases in cumulative work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) and associated costs. To date Injury Frequency and Severity rates have been reduced to their lowest levels since 1993. Additionally, repetitive motion injuries have been reduced by 63% and cost savings for all cause injuries between 1999 and 2000 reached