How to Perform an Ergonomic Assessment in 5 Simple Steps

Many of us spend a significant portion of our lives at our desks.

But what if that environment could be causing aches, pains, and even reduced productivity?

Enter the ergonomic assessment. This isn’t just about comfort; it is an approach to creating a workspace that supports your physical well-being and optimizes your ability to get things done.

By analyzing your posture, movements, and tasks, ergonomic assessments identify potential risk factors and recommend adjustments to transform your workspace. 

The benefits? Reduced discomfort, fewer injuries, and a boost in productivity.

Interested? Let’s delve deeper into how ergonomic assessments work and why they’re a game-changer for all types of workers!

What Is an Ergonomic Assessment?

An ergonomic assessment is an organized evaluation of a work environment to ensure that it is optimized for the safety, comfort, and productivity of its users.

By evaluating factors like posture, movement, and repetitive tasks, ergonomic assessments aim to apply changes that can prevent musculoskeletal disorders(MSDs), and enhance overall workplace efficiency.

Why Do an Ergonomics Assessment?

An ergonomics assessment is critical for maintaining a safe, healthy, and productive workplace. The key reasons for performing an ergonomics assessment include:

•  Identify and mitigate risks of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and work-related injuries.
•  Reduce employee discomfort and prevent long-term health problems.
• Enhance productivity by optimizing workspaces for efficient and effective work processes.
• Increase job satisfaction and reduce absenteeism( frequent and unexplained absences from work).
•  Achieve cost savings by decreasing medical expenses, compensation claims, and turnover rates.

5 Steps for Conducting an Ergonomic Assessment in the Workplace

Here’s an infographic to help you understand the steps better.

1. Review Existing Data and Past Ergonomic Assessments

Before starting a new ergonomic assessment, it’s important to gather and review any existing data or past assessments.

This step provides valuable information about earlier research or discoveries, identifies recurring issues, and helps understand the historical context of ergonomic challenges within the workplace.

Examine maintenance records, quality control reports, customer feedback forms, environmental monitoring logs, inspection reports, safety training records, incident response plans, and any employee suggestions for improvements.

2. Get a Real-Life Picture of Your Facility

To truly understand and improve workplace ergonomics, you must see things from the employees’ perspective. This means spending time on the floor, observing the actual work environment, and getting a feel for the daily operations. 

You can identify tasks and workstations that may have ergonomic problems by getting involved in daily activities.

Watch how employees interact with their tools, equipment, and surroundings. Notice their postures, the repetitive motions they perform, and the physical demands of their tasks.

You can even record a video for each employee and review it later to see how they are working. This allows you to observe potential ergonomic hazards that might not show up in the data alone.

This approach also helps you understand the unique context of each job role and environment.

For example, an office worker needs different ergonomic support than a warehouse worker.

Seeing these differences allows you to develop personalized solutions that address specific challenges, making a real difference in employees’ comfort and safety.

3. Engage Employees and Gather Feedback

The traditional proverb goes :

”You can’t truly understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes”

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To get a better understanding of the ergonomic situation in the workspace, it is important to interview employees to learn about their concerns and challenges related to ergonomics.

Collect objective and subjective feedback on ergonomic issues and potential improvements.

Employees are the most reliable source of information about the ergonomic challenges they face daily.

By directly engaging with them and asking personalized questions, you can find specific issues that might not be obvious through observation alone.

4. Gather Objective Data

Now that you’ve taken stock of incident reports, and injuries, and interviewed the employees about their experiences, it’s time to delve into the objective side of your ergonomic assessment.

You can now create a prioritized list of job tasks and departments that require closer evaluation. This list should reflect both the frequency and severity of ergonomic concerns observed or reported.

Next, combine this prioritized list with your chosen methods and tools to begin the objective phase of your ergonomic assessment.

Using specialized equipment and techniques, measure factors such as posture, force exertion, and repetitive motions. 

These measurements provide data points that help identify ergonomic risks and validate the need for improvements.

5. Analyze Data and Develop an Action Plan

After collecting both employees’ feedback and measurable data on ergonomic factors, the next step is to analyze this information.

Look closely at where the most significant ergonomic risks lie based on both subjective reports and objective measurements.

This analysis helps in understanding which issues are most urgent and where improvements will have the biggest impact.

Once the analysis is complete, it’s time to create a practical action plan.

This plan should outline specific steps to fix identified ergonomic risks. 

Consider factors like the severity of risks and how feasible it is to implement changes. Prioritize solutions that are realistic and can be effectively integrated into daily operations.

And now it’s time to prevent those calls from your employees claiming they can’t make it to work because of their aching backs and wrists.

Who Needs an Ergonomics Assessment?

An ergonomics assessment is useful for a wide range of individuals and organizations:

• Office Workers
• Industrial Workers
• Healthcare Workers(Nurses, doctors, support staff…)
• Individuals with Pre-existing Conditions or Disabilities
• Remote Workers
• Students
• Employers and Organizations

What is Ergonomics?

Ergonomics is about making things comfortable and efficient for people to use. It involves designing workplaces, tools, and equipment in a way that fits naturally with how our bodies work.

This helps prevent discomfort and injuries while also making tasks easier and more productive to perform.