1. INTRODUCTION
TO
ERGONOMICS
Presentation to Russian auto plant trade unionists
July, 2012
By Cathy Walker, former Director, Health and Safety,
Canadian Auto Workers Union

2. In Greek mythology, Procustes cut off
parts of people‟s arms or legs or stretched
people on a rack to fit his iron bed.

3. Ergonomics says
• Workers shouldn‟t be contorted to fit the job

4. Ergonomics says
• Work should be designed to fit the worker

5. What‟s wrong with this? Ford Canada

6. Discomfort
• That persists from day to day or interferes with normal
living or work activities should not be considered an
acceptable outcome of work
• Overhead work like this is not acceptable

7. We‟ve made progress at Ford in Canada with
ergonomic assists to reduce heavy work

8. Why did Ford act on Ergonomics?
• Because of pressure from the unions in Canada and the
U.S.
• 1987, in U.S. UAW - Ford contract negotiations, Ford
agreed to implement ergonomics programs in 60 plants
• After pressure from the union, in1987, U.S. Occupational
Health and Safety Administration imposed a $476,000 fine
for failure to accurately record injuries to workers.

9. Why did Ford act on Ergonomics?
• CAW – Ford contract negotiations, Ford agreed to
implement ergonomics programs in Canadian plants
• After pressure from the union, in 1990 in the U.S. the
Occupational Health and Safety Administration imposed a
$1.2 million fine for failure to accurately record injuries to
workers (there was and is no ergonomics law)
• 1990, Ford agreed to implement RSI reduction programs
in its 81 plants in the U.S.

10. U.S. government used the „general duty‟
clause to make Ford implement
ergonomics
• This is a very useful idea
• You can use the general duty of the employer to provide a
healthy and safe workplace, found in Russian law, to
ensure there is a sound ergonomics program in place
• Or for any other health and safety purpose

12. To prepare for 1996 bargaining, we
needed to be able to show speed-up was
harming workers
• So in 1995 we did the big studies among auto assembly
and auto parts workers
• Our findings showed speed up had produced injuries
• This increased awareness among the membership – their
pain was not individual, it was collective
• It built the case for ergonomics among the membership
and gave us ammunition to use with the employers
• Work refusals by members who suffered repetitive
strain injuries in the plants helped to set the stage for
bargaining

13. 1996 tough set of bargaining
• General Motors was the target company
• Contracting out was the biggest issue
• It impacted all others, including health and safety and the
pace of work
• The company began moving the dies out of one of the
plants so we occupied the plant to prevent it
• A five week strike followed and the company capitulated
• Then we moved on to the other two car companies, Ford
and Chrysler and got the same agreement

14. 1996 we really pushed for ergonomics
and got a Health & Safety Training Fund
• This fund was paid for by the employer (2 cents per hour
worked per employee to start) but controlled by the union.
• The union:
• appointed writers (rank and file workers) for courses and started
with ergonomics
• trained health and safety trainers (rank and file workers) to teach
this course and others courses
• developed a one week course on ergonomics and put all of the
union leadership in all of the car plants in it
• developed a shorter course on ergonomics for all of the workers
and everyone in all the plants

15. 1996 we really pushed for ergonomics
and got a Health & Safety Training Fund
• The union bargained full time union ergonomic
representatives in the assembly plants to help the union
OHS representatives
• The union wrote an updated Ergonomics Manual and the
fund paid for its publication
• The union ran ergonomics conferences to ensure the
issue was understood throughout the union, beyond just
the car plants

16. Strategies and Plans

17. Our health and safety strategies,
including ergonomics
• I hope by explaining what we do that you can pick and
choose what might be useful to you in your workplace

18. Our union OHS plan
• Awareness
• Goals, strategies and tactics
• Support
• Action

19. Awareness about ergonomic problems
• Ask workers where it hurts
• Ask workers what their problems are, what strains and
sprains injuries they may have
• Use surveys, interviews, meetings
• It increases the awareness of the workforce
• And it increases the awareness of the leadership about
the problem

20. Goals, strategies and tactics
• Once the surveys are back, questions have been
answered and analyzed:
• Determine the goal, eg. elimination of overhead work
• Develop strategies for implementation:
• On the shop floor
• In collective bargaining
• On the shop floor this would include looking at each job
that required overhead work, and determining how the job
could be done differently
• In collective bargaining it could include ensuring during
the next product assembly line change, jobs must be
designed to eliminate overhead work

21. Support
• Make sure the leadership is all on side and fully
understands your goals, strategies and tactics
• Return these strategies and tactics to the membership for
them to endorse or amend

22. Action
• Put your plan into action
• Ensure your workplace ergonomics leaders and union
negotiating team are well equipped to argue the point on
a case by case basis with management
• Engage in shop floor activities such as work refusals from
workers who suffer from RSIs to drive home the point
• And slow downs are effective, too since workers in pain
should be working slower
• Collective bargaining uses the threat of strike to good
effect
• When production is interfered with, management listens

23. Celebrate your victories
• It‟s very important to acknowledge your victories, even
partial victories
• It keeps your morale up and it builds support among the
membership for future struggles
• Don‟t just focus on the mountain ahead
• Once you‟ve climbed a hill, look back and celebrate how
far you‟ve come

24. Let‟s investigate workers‟ symptoms

25. Let‟s investigate workers‟ symptoms
• Each person please fill in the form (David, this form is
found on pages 46, 47 and 48 of the Ergonomics Manual.
If it‟s easier, it‟s fine to run off the body diagrams as a
separate sheet.)
• Take your time and do it thoughtfully
• When people are finished, we will form groups of two
• For each group of two, read the other person‟s form and
ask questions about it so you can thoroughly understand
the answers
• Note, question 13 addresses treatment but it also begins
to introduce the idea of solutions.

26. Do you feel that sort of survey throughout
your plant would help to:
• Increase awareness of workers about repetitive strain
injuries?
• Increase your understanding of where problem areas or
jobs are in the plant?
• Would it help you to:
• make goals for solving these problems?
• build support among the membership for acting to ensure your
goals are strived for?
• build a case with the company that these problems need to be
addressed?

27. We need to look at jobs, too

28. We need to look at jobs, too
• Bad design
• Good design
• Much of these are common sense
• How do we make jobs more comfortable for workers?
• The good designs seem so obvious when you see the
example, but they are often tough to think of on your own

29. How could we re-design this job?

30. Flip the car on its side

31. What can we do to help her?

32. Place the parts on their side

33. How could we design this tool better to
eliminate pressure points and stretching?

34. Bend the handle of the tool

35. How can we re-design this job?

36. Lower the bench
(and what else could we do?)

37. How can we eliminate the stress on his
forearm?

38. Cut off the sharp edge and put a pad on
the surface

39. You‟ve talked about your partner‟s
symptoms, now let‟s try to analyze his job
in your groups of two
• Go through the Ergonomic Risk Factor Checklist (David,
this is on pages 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59 of the Ergonomics
Manual) with your partner. Ask him about his job and fill
in the form.
• Then go through the form again with him asking you
about your job and filling it in.
• This is a very comprehensive analysis of the risk factors
of jobs.

40. Next we‟ll talk about
the principles of good job design

41. Here are the principles of good job design
• In each case we‟ll look at a risk factor and give examples
of things that can be done to reduce the risk
• (David, here the text for pages 90, 91, 92 and 93 of the
Egonomics Manual is needed. It will probably go on for
quite a few slides. As well, it should be a hand-out.)
• We will have small groups working on risk factors:

42. Small Group Work: Risk Factors
• Each small group should discuss among themselves how
to eliminate or reduce these risk factors:
• Force: Lift, lower or carry
• Force: Push or pull
• Force: Grip
• Work Posture
• Local Contact Stress
• Environment (eg. Vibration, temperature, lighting)
• Repetition
• Work Organization
• Prepare a report to share with the whole workshop

43. Risk Factor: Force; Lift, lower or carry

44. Risk Factor: Force; Lift, lower or carry
• Eliminate the need to manually lift, lower, or carry objects
by using engineering controls such as hoists, pallet jacks,
carts, and conveyors. If that is not practicable, consider
options such as the following to minimize risk:
• Minimize the distance of the load from the worker (eg., use
turntables; move the worker closer to the object; don‟t place
obstructions close to the object).
• Minimize the vertical distance over which the load is lifted or
lowered (e.g., use pallet jacks; limit shelf height).
• Avoid tasks below knuckle height (eg., use scissor lifts, pallet
jacks).
• Avoid tasks above shoulder height (eg., limit shelf heights; improve
storage practice, raise the worker).

45. Risk Factor: Force; Lift, lower or carry
• Avoid stooped or twisted positions (eg. provide
unrestricted work space; arrange the workstation to
minimize twisting when the worker picks up or puts down
a load).
• Minimize the size of the load (eg., order loads in smaller
containers; have worker take two trips rather than one).
• Minimize carrying distance (eg. have a well-designed
work flow).

46. Risk Factor: Force; Lift, lower or carry
• Avoid handling heavy or unbalanced objects while sitting
down (eg. stand so that stronger muscles are used to
perform physically demanding tasks; avoid handling more
than 4.5 kilograms while sitting down).
• Improve the grip on the load (eg. provide good handles on
containers; add clamps or other devices to improve grip).
• Change the design of the task (eg. from a lifting task to a
lowering task; from a lifting, lowering, or carrying task to a
pushing or pulling task).
• Use pause periods or job enhancement to permit muscles
to recover from applying force for prolonged periods.

47. Risk Factor: Force: Push or pull

48. Risk Factor: Force: Push or pull
• Eliminate the need to manually push or pull objects by
using engineering controls such as conveyors, hoists, and
gravity-fed systems. If that is not practicable, consider
options such as the following to minimize risks:
• Use carts that are well designed and appropriate to the task:
• Handles can be grasped between waist and shoulder height (eg.,
vertical handles that can accommodate workers of different heights).

49. Risk Factor: Force: Push or pull
• Load can be secured on the cart if necessary (eg., belts
or clamps provided).
• The size, number, and type of wheels are appropriate for
the floor surface and weight carried.
• Moving parts are maintained (preventive maintenance).
• The worker has good visibility when pushing the cart.

50. Risk Factor: Force: Push or Pull
• Use carts in an unrestricted area:
• The worker is able to push and is not forced to pull the cart.
• The worker can assume a comfortable position to initiate and
maintain movement of the load.
• The worker is not forced to assume awkward postures because of
restricted work space or poor visibility.

51. Risk Factor: Force: Push or Pull
• Use carts in areas with proper flooring or surface:
• The floor is clean (eg., no debris or clutter on floor).
• The floor does not slope and is not slippery.
• There is no thick, plush, or shag carpet.
• The surface is level (eg. minimize surface height changes in areas
such as the entrance to elevators; fill potholes and cracks in
surface).

52. Risk Factor: Force: Push or Pull
• Reduce the load (eg. make two trips).
• Reduce the total time spent pushing or pulling, or break
the total time into smaller blocks of time doing that task.

53. Risk Factor: Force: Grip

54. Is this grip bad?
Can we design a better tool?

55. Yes we can, we can reduce
pressure points and strain by bending the
handle

56. Risk Factor: Force: Grip
• Eliminate the need to manually grasp or handle objects by
using engineering controls such as clamps or automated
tools. If that is not practicable, consider options such as
the following to minimize risk:
• Maintain a straight wrist (neutral position) through:
• Improved design of handles (eg., bent instead of straight handles).
• Improved design of workstation (eg., parts containers that are tilted
instead of flat; use of in-line tools).
• Improved work practice (eg., conscious effort to keep wrist straight).

57. Risk Factor: Force: Grip
• Use power grip to grasp objects through:
• Improved design of objects of handles on tools (eg. using boxes
with cut-outs to permit power grip; adding handles to objects).
• Improved layout of workstation (eg., objects positioned to permit
easy access to handles).
• Improved work practice (eg., conscious effort to avoid pinch grip).

58. Risk Factor: Force: Grip
• Avoid strong or hard grasping of vibrating tools through:
• Improved design of tools (eg., tools with built-in vibration-
dampening sleeve).
• Improved work practice (conscious effort not to grasp too hard).
• Use of personal protective equipment (eg., well-fitting vibration
dampening gloves to reduce grip force).

59. Risk Factor: Force: Grip
• Avoid handling objects with cold surface temperature
through:
• Improved work practice (eg., at the end of the day, store the next
day‟s supplies inside instead of keeping them outside where they
will be cold by morning).
• Improved work procedure (eg., avoid skin contact by using tools or
utensils for grasping; use warm water periodically to warm hands).
• Use of suitable gloves.

60. Risk Factor: Force: Grip
• Improve grip while handling slippery objects by using
friction-enhanced, well-fitting gloves or gloves with fingers
removed.
• Reduce the total time spent manually gripping objects, or
break the total time into smaller blocks of time doing that
task.

61. Work posture

62. Work posture
• Eliminate awkward postures by using engineering controls
such as adjusting work heights, minimizing reaching
distances, changing orientation of work, changing layout
of workstation, using adjustable or angled tools and
equipment, and using turntables, conveyors, tilted
surfaces, or spring-loaded surfaces.
• The objective is to enable the worker to work in a
comfortable posture. Every posture requires periodic
changes and movement or it becomes static. If elimination
of awkward postures is not possible, consider options
such as the following to minimize risk:

63. Work posture
• Minimize awkward postures of the trunk:
• Minimize forward bending by increasing the work height or moving
objects closer (eg., use turntables, improve layout of workspace).
• Minimize side bending by reducing the reach distance or moving
objects to the front of the worker (eg., improve layout of work
space; move closer to the objects).
• Minimize twisting by reducing reach distance or moving objects to
the front of the worker (eg., improve layout of work space; move
closer to the objects).

64. Work posture
• Minimize awkward postures of the shoulder:
• Minimize reaching forward by reducing the reach distance or
lowering the work height.
• Minimize reaching sideways by reducing the reach distance,
lowering the work height, or moving objects to the front of the body.
• Minimize reaching behind by moving objects to the front of the
worker.
• Minimize reaching across the body by moving closer to the objects
or transferring objects from one hand to another.

65. Work posture
• Minimize awkward postures of the wrist by selecting the
required tools with appropriate handles (eg., angled
handles).
• Minimize forearm rotation by using power tools or mechanical
turners.
• Minimize squatting and kneeling by raising the work.
• Minimize static postures:
• Provide footrests to allow the worker to transfer weight from one to
foot to another.
• Provide opportunities for the worker to move about periodically.
• Minimize awkward postures while sitting by providing an
appropriate chair that is adjusted to give good back support,
maintain a comfortable posture, and minimize contact stress.
• Provide a tilted sit-stand stool to take weight off the worker‟s feet
and legs while allowing mobility

66. Local Contact Stress

67. Local Contact Stress
• Eliminate or minimize exposure to local contact stress:
• Change or modify equipment (eg. use a long-handled screwdriver
to prevent the butt from digging into the palm).
• Change or modify work area to prevent sharp edges from digging
into the skin (eg. pad sharp or metal edges).
• Use personal protective equipment (eg. use knee pads while
kneeling; use padded gloves when lifting heavy objects by narrow
plastic strapping).
• Improve or change work practice:
• Avoid resting or leaning against sharp edges.
• Avoid using a body part (eg. hand or knee) as a hammer.

68. Environment

69. Environment
• Eliminate or minimize exposure to whole-body vibration:
• Avoid sitting or standing for prolonged periods on a vibrating
surface if practicable (eg., catwalks on vibrating machinery).
• Isolate the source of vibration from the rest of the work space to
prevent transmission of vibration to the sitting or standing area (eg.,
isolation of truck cabs from diesel engine vibration).
• Keep equipment well maintained to reduce vibration.
• Reduce total exposure to vibration by breaking up driving tasks or
incorporating job rotation.
• Keep road surfaces well maintained where possible

70. Environment
• Keep the body warm at a comfortable temperature:
• Use local source heating.
• Wear warm clothing.
• Take rest breaks in warm areas.
• Ensure there is a proper heat stress program in place that
ensures supplied water and adequate rest in cool places
on hot days
• Ensure that lighting is proper for the task being performed
and glare is avoided so that the worker does not assume
awkward postures to compensate for glare, brightness, or
inadequate lighting.

71. Repetition

72. Repetition
• Eliminate highly repetitious tasks by using engineering
controls such as mechanization (eg., power tools) or
automation. If that is not practicable, consider options
such as the following to minimize risk:
• Combine or eliminate some parts of work to reduce the pace of
repetition.
• Incorporate flexibility over pace (eg., allow the worker to take rest
breaks and micro-pauses or to control the speed of the conveyor).
• Use good work techniques
• Reduce the duration of exposure to repetition (eg., offer job rotation
or job enhancement). Who thinks this only shares around the
uncomfortable and more dangerous jobs?

73. Work organization

74. Work organization
• Ensure that repetitive or demanding tasks incorporate
opportunities for rest or recovery (eg., allow brief pauses
to relax muscles; change work tasks; change postures or
techniques).
• Incorporate task variability so that the worker does not
have to perform similar repetitious tasks throughout the
full shift. Provide the worker with the opportunity to vary
work tasks by rotating jobs or increasing the scope of the
job.
• Ensure that work demands and work pace are
appropriate.

75. What happens when an injured worker
returns to work?

76. What happens when an injured worker
returns to work?
• Has his job been changed to prevent reoccurrence?
• These are the issues that need to be looked at to ensure
he is able to return to work safely.
• (David, this is the return to work checklist on page 124. It
would be good if it could be reproduced as a hand-out.)

77. How to convince management of need to
change a job ergonomically? You need:
• Evidence:
• Injury and lost time statistics
• Reports from workers about problems (hopefully before they get
injured) and their proposals for solutions
• Results of your thorough investigation of the job itself
• Arguments:
• Using above evidence, use your knowledge of ergonomics to
persuade management
• If logic and reason don‟t persuade them, ensure workers
know about their right to refuse unsafe work
• You need worker action, individual and collective to
persuade management to improve ergonomics on jobs

78. Distribute leaflets helping workers to
understand problems

79. Distribute leaflets helping workers to
understand problems
• (David, these are the leaflets on pages 138, 139, 140 and
141 of the Ergonomics Manual. Needless to say, the
CAW specific parts should be left out. I think for reasons
of time that these should just be hand-outs.)

80. “Ergonomics is the biggest challenge we
have at Ford in Canada”
• Emil Mesic, CAW Local 707 health and safety
representative

81. We‟ve solved some problems but the
struggle for health and safety is never over
• The following slides are just a few examples of some of
the other problems our Ford union health and safety reps
have confronted since the recession of October 2008

82. Ford Oakville Assembly Plant, 2008
• Fatality to forklift driver, pinned between his forklift and
another forklift
• A few weeks later a paint shop employee was critically
injured when a high pressure hose burst off a fitting during
water blasting in the paint shop
• Numerous slips and trips resulting in broken bones and
burns to regular workers and summer students
• Ergonomic problems resulted in many days away from
work
• Result: one of the worst safety records for Ford plants in
North America

83. Ford Oakville Assembly Plant, 2009
• Ongoing problem with the high speed roller table exiting
the windshield and glass cells, a number of first aid visits
and work refusals until problem resolved.
• Power and free conveyor problems with tow bars falling;
conveyor counterweights falling; dogs on conveyor failing,
causing a crash.

84. Ford Oakville Assembly Plant, 2010
• Railway worker killed at Ford plant, crushed between two
box cars
• Forklift caught fire at beginning of day shift and plant filled
with smoke. Company wanted workers to come in to
work but workers refused until smoke cleared.

85. Ford Oakville Assembly Plant, 2011
• Broken limbs, cuts, abrasions and numerous ergonomic
problems
• One worker lost consciousness because of the heat
• Heat stress big issue, lack of bottled water deliveries in
some departments, lack of air conditioning in some rest
areas
• Ventilation problems in some areas
• Serious burn when worker‟s ring made contact with
battery terminal
• Unlocked parts bins spilling parts led to work refusals and
near misses
• Preventive maintenance on forklifts not been adequate
due to cut-backs to maintenance mechanics

86. We‟ve made progress but we have a long
way to go to realize our goal of a society
in which economic and political power are
in the collective hands of the workers and
where labour is not only socially useful but
a means of development of each
individual.
• Thanks very much