ESL EXPERIENCE

Let us help you enhance your workplace environment to avoid injury and reduce claims as well as improve health, comfort and productivity for your most valuable asset - your employees.

Over the last thirteen (13) years, ESL has developed a full range of consulting and training services along with quality products designed to meet the "human engineering" needs which exist in the office, factory and warehouse environments today. ESL addresses the need to "adapt the workplace to the worker" to improve comfort, productivity, morale, safety and overall performance for its clients.

ESTABLISH ERGONOMIC PROCESS

In order for our clients to deploy a successful ergonomic process within their companies, the process developed must be sustainable, business driven, cost effective, compliant and results in reduced injuries to its employees. To accomplish this process objective, four (4) critical and important elements are required to launch an effective ergonomic process. ESL has identified these elements from its experience and insights provided by companies it has serviced over the past decade spanning a wide variety of industrial sectors. These elements are as follows:

1. The ergonomic process must be driven by risk identification and reduction strategies and management support. Once risk factors known to contribute to injury and illness are identified, the company must adopt a proactive approach to ergonomics by addressing these risks early and effectively. Waiting to respond only to actual injury and illness incidents will be costly while responding to identified risks in a preventative action oriented manner will result in improved performance and employee attitudes.
2. An effective ergonomic process must allow for quick implementation of known solutions to correct identified risks. This is accomplished by revising and adjusting routines/activities and physical reconfiguration of workstations. The "not invented here" attitude will cause real damage to solving preventable costly incidents. The proactive approach is required by the company.
3. Ergonomics must be positioned to management as an opportunity to improve business performance through better management of the company's "human assets." This element is important to identify the cost reduction impact on the company's profitability through implementation of these improvements based on a healthy work force and improved productivity.
4. Launching an effective ergonomic process requires the "buy in" of all levels of the corporate organization from top management, middle management, line supervision and direct /indirect employees. Ergonomics cannot be successful without the full commitment, participation, support and cooperation of the entire organization. With this approach, ergonomic risks are identified early in the process and actions can be taken to control existing or future employee exposure to these risks.

ESL can assist in developing an effective ergonomic process by utilizing the following techniques:

1. Observation: This is the most basic form of assessment. Many ergonomic risks can be easily identified and solutions implemented at the supervisory and employee levels using observation tools.
2. Training: Basic ergonomic awareness training for employees can help utilize the employee's knowledge to identify risks and recommend action suggestions. This approach usually results in quick action fixes or changes at minimal costs and efforts while improving employee attitude and loyalty.
3. Analysis Assessment: Certain ergonomic risks require more detailed analysis to resolve or determine solutions. This analytical technique will usually require a higher level of knowledge such as highly trained employees, engineers or facility supervision to complete the analysis to identify and prioritize ergonomic risks and recommending alternative job improvements.
4. Advanced Strategies: For situations involving a high degree of ergonomic risk and possible capital investments to be solved, an in-depth professional analysis may be required to develop solutions. These may require advanced operational strategies to determine possible product design changes, production equipment enhancements or modifications or major revisions to production process standards. Very few ergonomic risks require this type of in-depth analysis.

ERGONOMIC AUDITS & EVALUATIONS

Corporate Audits can be utilized by our clients to provide an objective assessment of its current ergonomic status versus OSHA or State imposed ergonomic standards and guidelines. The audit process is performed by an ESL professional consultant by evaluating and reviewing the client's existing:

The audit procedure will include facility walk-throughs, examination of injury, medical and personnel records, detailed meeting with key management, engineering, safety, risk management , medical, human resource and operational personnel and finally, direct and indirect employees.

The results of the Corporate Ergonomic Audit is a status report covering such
items as:

ERGONOMIC RISK ASSESSMENT

Corporate Risk Assessment can be utilized by our clients to identify, understand and react to the ergonomic issues for specific functions, duties or jobs within your organization quickly and efficiently to minimize "on the job" risks currently existing in the work environment. This detailed assessment can be limited to an individual job or function to an entire department or section involving multiple tasks and activities. The scope of the process can be determined from a visit to your facility to perform a walk-through of the target worksite, conducting employee interviews and examination of injury and illness records.

This risk assessment will be performed by an ESL professional consultant utilizing ERGO SENTRY software and analytical tools, if required, to document statistics and other data to determine risk factors.

The results of an Ergonomic Risk Assessment is a summary report providing the following:

ERGONOMIC SOLUTIONS & IMPLEMENTATION

By utilizing observational, training, analysis or advanced strategies techniques, ESL can develop and implement specific ergonomic solutions necessary to reduce known risk factors quickly and effectively in a targeted activity. These solutions may be performed on an individual ergonomic task or for a large number of ergonomic issues within an office, department, plant or facility. The procedure includes an in-depth assessment of the existing workstation, work tasks and methods, tools and equipment utilized to perform a specific job function. Upon completion of this evaluation procedure, ESL can develop specific recommendations for corrective product retrofit installations, task method adjustments, physical handling changes, training programs and other specifications relative to design or equipment modifications.

The results of an Ergonomic Solution Development study are presented in a detailed report describing and illustrating workstation, work method, tool and equipment design or retrofit modifications. On site or remote support to your internal staffs during solution implementation are available from ESL or its recommended suppliers as required as an optional service or a part of the original project scope.

ERGONOMIC EDUCATION & TRAINING

Training is an important component of an effective ergonomic process and can be a significant health and safety investment for your company. Ergonomic training and awareness is necessary throughout the organization to insure that ergonomics becomes an integral element of the company's standard operating and administrative procedure policies. Ergonomics should not be used only for crisis management situations.

ESL offers a wide variety of ergonomic training and educational programs geared to reach all levels of management and employees. Examples of these are:

Training must be relevant to meet the needs of the trainees by emphasizing the information that is essential for assisting the participants to reach successful performance and risk prevention objectives. Hands-On learning helps insure the training is performance driven by improving understanding and increasing retention. In this way, participants can confirm to themselves that they have achieved skill competency and give them the control level to use these newly acquired skills on the job.

Effective ergonomic training requires qualified trainers. Trainers should be capable in both training delivery and ergonomic technical content. Trainers with practical ergonomic skills experience usually provide the best educational environment for the participants.

CUSTOMIZED OFFICE LAYOUT, FURNITURE & PRODUCTS

ESL can develop ergonomic solutions for the office environment by using similar ergonomic process techniques as described earlier under Workstation and Product Specification programs. ESL performs individual or departmental evaluations of office workstation layouts, furniture, computer equipment and lighting sources to insure that existing office standards support the employee and tasks performed properly to minimize ergonomic risks. Upon completion of the evaluations, ESL can identify the key process links between jobs and within departments to develop specific furniture, equipment and fixtures implementation actions required to optimize individual and department efficiencies and employee safety.

ESL's "one-stop shopping and turnkey" implementation services of providing selection, purchasing and installation of recommended solutions allows the client to achieve its ergonomic goals and priorities quicker and cost efficiently.

ERGONOMIC PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Ergonomic programs are an interactive process involving all management, supervision and employees in risk identification and solution developments. For ergonomic programs to be successful, it is critical that the process developed provides for all employees to participate and work together to improve the workplace for each individual and their organizational associates. Ergonomics does not need to be complicated since most solutions are based on common sense and awareness of risk. Therefore, if a task or function being performed does not feel natural to the individual, chances are it is ergonomically a problem or inappropriate for the long term good of the individual.

ESL provides program management services at all levels of participation depending on the ergonomic needs or scope required by each client to meet regulatory or corporate guidelines or standards. ESL can assist in writing your ergonomic program, establishing the ergonomic process and organizational structure, implement and coordinate in conjunction with internal staff and /or managing the entire program, if necessary, with minimal top management involvement. Many of our clients have successfully developed an ergonomic program as a vital initiative to maximize productivity and improve health and safety for its corporate population.