They facilitate the development of occupational health and safety in operation in terms of a management task: planning, a systematic, targeted and controlled.

These design principles can be the basis of regulations, Occupational Safety regulations (safety regulations) and the rules of the art concrete for the various tasks and jobs.

Design Principle 1: preventive

The Labour Protection Act contains a model of occupational safety and health, as it were a basic philosophy. First there is the avoidance of health hazards, the prevention or The preventive action. This requires a planned approach and the inclusion of occupational health and safety at all levels of the company, executives and employees.

• The work must be designed so that any risk to life and health is avoided and the remaining risk is as low as possible.
• Employees must fulfill their obligation to cooperate, protective measures and codes of conduct must be observed.
• Hazards should be controlled at the source. It follows that technical and organizational protection measures have priority over personal protection equipment.

Design Principle 2: business related

The measures for the health and safety in operation, the more effectively and more efficiently, the more all predictors of the respective specific operational circumstances are taken into account. Therefore urges the OSH Act:

• The necessary measures must take into account the circumstances of the workplace, the work situation and operations that affect the health and safety.

Design Principle 3: holistic

Not just the technology or operations have influence on potential health hazards, but also social and psychological components. This may include, for example, unclear responsibilities and job descriptions, lack of qualifications of the persons concerned or a bad work environment include.

Measures should be planned with the aim of technology, work organization, other working conditions, social relationships and link the influence of environment on the job properly

The work system as a basis

A step towards holistic coverage of all factors and elements of a work situation or in a workplace, and their mutual influence on the consideration of the work situation is as a working system.

Health and safety should be ensured in a working system, the system must be designed according to its individual elements and in its entire interaction. The detection of specific work system is the preparation and systematization of the risk assessment. These may be process-oriented and make work tasks and work processes at the center as required. You may also be object-oriented and look at individual elements of the work system. Approaches to design are basically always the technology, people and organization.

Design Principle 4: current

The development of measures for occupational health and safety is not an act. New technical equipment, materials and new working methods, new discoveries in medicine require an adjustment of labor protection measures ever necessary.

• The prior art and secure working scientific knowledge – and the generally accepted rules in the professional world of technology – the specification of protective measures must be taken into account. Such expertise to bring the consultant to the employer, as the experts on occupational safety with one.

Design Principle 5: A continuous process

The measures of occupational health and safety must withstand a review of efficacy. The Labour Protection Act calls for a continuous quality assurance process.

• The safeguard measures shall be reviewed for effectiveness and modified if necessary, the conditions are matched.
• An improvement of health and safety is desirable.

Design Principle 6: participation-oriented

Without the active involvement and a piece of personal responsibility as it gets. So says the Occupational Safety Act, the training of employees. You have a duty to follow the instructions and support to employers for health protection. You have the right to information and may make suggestions for improvement.

Involvement and participation in health and safety promotes thinking, preventive action and Aktzeptanz.

• The employer shall instruct sufficient and appropriate.
• Employees are entitled to the employer proposals on all issues of safety and health to make.
• Vulnerable groups such as pregnant women need or Mitigated performance are also considered in the design of protective measures.

The literature provides strong evidence for the role, in low back disorders, of job satisfaction, monotonous work, social support at work, high work demands, job stress, and emotional effort at work. The perception of one’s ability to return to work was also positively associated with future back pain.

While the literature on upper extremity work disorders is not so extensive as with back disorders, higher levels of perceived job demands and job stress were the psychosocial factors most consistently linked to upper extremity work disorders. The reviews of the epidemiologic literature also indicated that certain psychosocial factors that are not work-specific (e.g., general worry/psychological tension, depression/anxiety, general coping style, and response to pain) were also associated with both back and upper extremity disorders. Nonwork-related variables tend to be more commonly related to back than to upper extremity disorders.

Given that the emphasis of this report is on work-related factors, this chapter reviews various models of occupational stress and discusses how exposure to stresses at work can impact the physiology of musculoskeletal pain in the spine and upper extremities work disorders. Nonworkplace psychosocial stressors can exert similar effects, but are not discussed here.

The study of work disorders and occupational stress is a difficult endeavor because of the many factors that can influence the development, exacerbation, and maintenance of job stress and the highly subjective nature of measures of exposure and outcomes used in this area. In addition, the various biological correlates of stress exposure and, more specifically, the proposed models of how job stress may affect occupational musculoskeletal disorders, are speculative.

Also, if biological pathways linking job stress to work-related musculoskeletal disorders exist, it is currently unknown whether they are specific to these disorders or, more likely, represent the final common pathway by which exposure to both work-related and nonwork-related stressors exert an effect on a number of health disorders (e.g., cardiovascular disease). That is, the specificity of these pathways is unknown. It is generally accepted that musculoskeletal pain can be experienced in the absence of evident physiological change or tissue damage (Melzack, 1999) and that such pain is modulated primarily by cognitive processes.

This chapter reviews general models of occupational stress, biological correlates of stress exposure, selected theories related to how occupational stress might impact musculoskeletal disorders, and hypothesized pathways that may account for the relationship.

Approximately 43.6 percent of the reports of the injury or illnesses associated with overexertion from lifting and 49.7 percent associated with repetitive motion come from employees working in jobs in the operator/fabricator/laborer category. The next highest categories for lifting were service (18.3 percent) and technical/sales/administrative support (17.7 percent). For repetitive motion, the next highest categories were technical/sales/administrative support (21.6 percent) and precision/production/craft/repair (12.3 percent).

It is interesting to note that overall the percentage of injuries or illnesses reported from lifting declined by 25 percent between 1992 and 1997; those attributed to repetitive motion declined by 16 percent. Since jobs in manual materials handling are a major source of reported musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses, we take the analysis another step and examine the types of workers’ compensation claims resulting from work in jobs involving manual materials handling. This analysis is supplemented by data collected from a large number of companies on various features of manual materials handling tasks.

Jobs involving such materials handling tasks as construction, meatpacking, parcel package delivery, transportation, and moving were the source of the greatest number of workers’ compensation claims filed in the state of Washington between 1990 and 1997 for musculoskeletal injury or illnesses of the low back and upper extremities (Silverstein and Kalat, 1999). Another occupation with a significant number of claims was nursing home work that involved lifting and moving patients.

According to an analysis performed at the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (Dempsey and Hashemi, 1999), 36 percent of these claims, over a 6-year period, were associated with manual materials handling jobs. Of these, approximately 70 percent were for problems with the low back and upper extremities. As for the nature of the injury or illnesses (as classified by these authors), the highest category was strain (62 percent) followed by fracture (12.8 percent) and laceration (11.6 percent); sprains accounted for 6 percent.

Ciriello and Snook (1999) conducted a study summarizing typical manual materials handling tasks performed at 2,442 locations across the country. They collected and analyzed data on lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, and carrying activities covering a 13-year period. The results show that lifting tasks were acceptable for 81 percent of the men but for only 10 percent of the women; for lowering tasks, the percentages were 89 and 14; and for carrying tasks, they were 88 and 36 percent, respectively.

Moreover, the median weights for the lifting and lowering tasks were significantly higher than the weight limits recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The authors concluded that additional work was needed to reduce the risks of the injury or illnesses in industry associated with manual lifting tasks. With the growing number of women in the workforce, these data are of particular interest.

The data from Ciriello and Snook (1999) can also be analyzed for time trends to determine whether jobs have become easier or more difficult over the 12 years of data collection. The authors did not conduct a random survey of all jobs, but rather analyzed the jobs that had been submitted to them by insurance agents in their capacity as reducers of potential insurance claims. The authors claim that the jobs are representative of industrial practice, although they acknowledge that sample sizes have decreased over the time period covered. In fact, they probably represent more demanding jobs, as their median weights for lifting and lowering were about 20 kg, well above the 9.1 kg reported by Drury, Law, and Pawenski (1982) in a survey of about 2,000 box-handling jobs in industry.

When analyzed for linear time trends, Ciriello and Snook’s data show significant changes over 1981 to 1993, with jobs becoming less demanding over time. The changes were quite large in some cases; for example, there was a mean decrease in lifted weight of about 0.5 kg per year and an improvement in both lift distance and height (at the start of the lift) of over 10 mm per year. These trends, coupled with the continued promise of automation of heavy industrial tasks, suggest a decrease in workplace risk factors associated with manual lifting tasks.

The central theme of work both now and in the future is diversity in workers, jobs, workplace design, and work location. At the level of industries and occupations, changes have been occurring for a number of years. For example, there has been a shift from blue-collar work to service work, a trend toward teamwork, and an increasing need for all levels of employees to develop new skills for working with technology.

Current trends also indicate continuing part-time employment, outsourcing, mobility of workers among jobs both within and between occupations, and an aging workforce with an increasing number of women and minorities. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the current trend in work outside the traditional work setting will continue to expand.

The scholarly treatment of workplace trends has focused almost exclusively on organizational issues and personnel policies rather than on changes in the content of specific jobs and occupations. In this chapter, we attempt to piece together a description of the current and projected content of work and the implications for the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders.

We begin the discussion with an overview of the growth and decline of occupations in the past and the projected trends for the future. This discussion focuses on the types of jobs that have produced the highest percentage of musculoskeletal disorders injury reports in the last decade—those associated with materials handling—and the expected changes anticipated in these jobs in the next decade.

The second part of the chapter examines the external variables that influence changes in work, including: (1) workforce demographics, (2) technology, (3) the globalization of markets, and (4) organizational structures, policies, and procedures. The final section presents a summary of the implications of anticipated trends in work on the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Frederick Winslow Taylor went to work at Bethlehem Steel. Upon observing the workers shoveling coal, Taylor had an idea. He assigned each worker a shovel that was of a size and weight ideally suited to the worker’s own body structure. With the new shovels, the workers became triply effective, Bethlehem Steel was able to reduce its cost by half, and get the same amount of work out of 140 employees that it once got out of 400.

Today, few businesses need concern themselves with optimizing their employees’ coal-shoveling potentialities, but workers are breaking their backs at a whole new kind of grind, spending up to fourteen hours a day at a desk in front of a computer. That is why ergonomics, the study and integration of human well-being principles into systems designs, has become an integral part of the creation of modern workspaces.

There are several areas of ergonomics to consider when designing or redesigning an office space. Arguably the most important of these is the physical aspect. The average worker pushes his or her body to the limit every day simply by sitting in a chair, motionless save for fingers flashing over the keyboard, and hands and arms controlling the mouse.

It doesn’t seem like a punishing physical task, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs), such as Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, are the single fastest-growing work-related illness, costing businesses as much as 30 billion dollars a year, and all due to just sitting at a desk typing.

Physical ergonomics, then, is concerned with office tools and supplies geared towards allowing people to work efficiently, productively, and painlessly. The major product issues in this category surround chairs, keyboards, and mice. There are many of these type of ‘ergonomic’ products on the market, but experts say that virtually none of these actually do the job right..

A huge demand for ergonomic office furniture and supplies has led to an unfortunate wave of products being advertised as ‘ergonomic,’ when they are anything but. At this point, there is absolutely no system in place regulating what can or cannot be marketed as such, so it’s wise to shop around. Ergonomists suggest that businesses consult – surprise, surprise – ergonomists, before overhauling a work environment.

However, without resorting to a process of drastic remodeling, employers can vastly improve physical ergonomics by providing free classes in which workers can learn to use their own bodies ergonomically. After all, you can have the best office chair in the world, but if you don’t know how to sit in it, you will always be uncomfortable. Classes in the Alexander Technique, Tai Chi, and yoga can do huge things for physical health in the workplace, and lead to a reduction in work-related injuries, which in turn shrinks the cost to businesses of paying out for sick days and sick workers.

Another crucial area of ergonomics is engineering psychology, or cognitive ergonomics. This area is born out of the philosophy that a happy worker is a productive worker, and to be happy, a worker has to not dread going in to the office every day. Cluttered, messy, overwhelming, or generally unpleasant workstations are the cause of this ennui for more than 50% of all office employees in the US, according to a recent Logitech survey.

The word of the day in ergonomic workspace design is to say goodbye to those cubicles! In practice, open, dynamic work areas are proving to be hotbeds of employee creativity and productivity. It is true that privacy is often cited as a workplace must-have, but the benefits of a spatially unrestricted environment in which workers are able to easily collaborate, communicate, and problem-solve are far greater.

A ‘war room’ style workspace, or what is called ‘radical collocation’ is gaining in popularity amongst fast-growing IT businesses. This environment normally involves a large, open space with tables around the center for collaborative work, and more enclosed spaces around the edge of the room for solo projects and private conferences.

Ideally, these workspaces will be furnished as dynamically as possible, with lightweight, easily movable furniture that can be regularly reconfigured to meet the needs of the day. Studies show that employees who are given the opportunity to contribute to the shaping of their work environment demonstrate high levels of commitment to their jobs, which translates into increased productivity, low turnover rates, fewer sick days, and even increased neatness and conscientious behavior.

This sort of open, flexible environment also provides ample opportunity for workers to move around, which has both cognitive and physical ergonomic benefits. Staying in the same position, at the same desk, day after day, is not conducive in allowing human beings to function at their best.

Rather than assigning desks, ergonomic workspace design involves employees being able to move freely from workstation to workstation, library to hot desk to breakout room, depending on what they need to do. This strategy works best in a wireless environment, and overall leads to reduced clutter, increased creativity and job commitment, and better employee health.

For a new business, beginning ergonomically is a must. It is an investment in cutting future costs by ensuring the on-site well-being of employees. When starting from scratch, ergonomic design can actually be cheaper than creating a conventional office environment, because it eliminates many of the expensive borders and limitations – everything from walls to wiring – that so many drab, gray, airless office spaces labor under.

For an established business, coming around to ergonomics can prove to be a great expense, and with so many products and services out there pushing themselves as the ergo-solution of the day, it can be hard not to go over-budget. However, the time of the isolated, burnt-out cubicle employee is drawing to a close, and to compete with the satisfied, energized workers found in modern office spaces, traditional businesses are going to have to come around eventually.

In the end, it’s just a matter of identifying the point at which the costs of dealing with unhappy, uncomfortable workers begins to be outweighed by the benefits of making the change in favor of better quality work, lower absenteeism, consistently met deadlines, and fewer errors. Yes, the transition to ergonomic workspace design can be expensive, but ultimately, it could save your business.

Roll lifter ergonomic design can eliminate muscle, joint and back injuries while increasing a worker’s overall output. Roll lifters often have a load attachment that can be easily changed to fit multiple needs. Using a roll lifter will maximize your productivity in two ways:

1. Save on the cost of moving stationary equipment
2. Avoid disruptions to the manufacturing process

Roll lifters not only maximize productivity but also enhance the safety of your workers and reduce work-related injury costs, all of which are absolutely necessary. The average cost of a lost-time injury claim in Ontario through WSIB in 2007 was $98 000. It’s obvious that you can’t afford to have your employees working with hazardous, unsafe equipment.

There are numerous benefits to employers who provide their employees with the safest workplace possible. Using an ergonomic machine such as a roll lifter will improve employee safety and reduce the costs associated with workplace injuries. Workplace safety increases productivity and boosts employee morale.

Roll lifters ensure operator and equipment safety in a number of ways, by:

1. Being explosion proof
2. Being adaptable to multi-shift operations
3. Being easy to operate in small and narrow spaces
4. Having an adjustable overload protection
5. Having an ergonomic design to facilitate easy lifting, moving, handling and manipulation of loads of all sizes

Because of their safe, ergonomic design roll lifters are used in a number of different industrial environments, including:

1. Electronic industries
2. Pharmaceutical industries
3. Food industries
4. Engineering industries
5. Automotive industries

When you are considering purchasing any type of heavy duty safety equipment ensure you choose a reliable supplier, distributor or manufacturer. A reliable supplier, distributor or manufacturer:

1. Will have the most up to date product specifications and information
2. Can help you choose the best equipment based on your industry, work environment and needs, including weight specifications
3. Will ensure you choose equipment that is safe to use and has the most up-to-date safety features

You also want to ensure that the roll lifter you choose is durable, strong and reliable and easy to operate and maintain. Look for a roll lifter that is affordable, but be sure you don’t sacrifice safety features for a low price.

Roll lifters are available in different sizes and are designed for different uses and applications so ensure you purchase one that is perfectly suited to your needs to ensure your operators can work safely and efficiently.

By: Richard Lapointe
Editor: Ergonomics and Health

The average American spends approximately 11.75 hours in their car each week. That’s more than 611 hours per year! Considering how much time your customers and prospects spend sitting in their cars, it is vital to their long term health and your customer satisfaction ratings that your car seats are created with ergonomic design elements that provide maximum support and protection. In this article, I’m going to share with you the top 6 “ergonomic essential” for creating the safest, most comfortable car seat possible.

Ergonomic Essential #1

Effective support of the legs. The seat pan’s leading edge must be soft so as not to stop blood flow to the lower legs, which can lead to Thrombosis (blood clots). There should be some lateral support to the upper legs to prevent side rollout of the feet and to prevent fatigue during long trips. This shaping of the seat pan can be referred to as a semi “bucket” seat. Bucket seats where originally designed for racing cars to keep the driver firmly in the seat in case of a crash.

Ergonomic Essential #2

Proper support of the “sit bones”. Within the hip area there are the sit bones (otherwise known as the Ischial tuberosities.) The sit bones are the abutments for the bridge that is formed by the two halves of the pelvis and the coxsis. This structure will tend to sag slightly if it is not properly padded. The cushion underneath this part should be able to handle up to 400 lbs. As the vehicle travels over bumps, occupant bodies come down with twice the force of gravity.

Ergonomic Essential #3

Solid lumbar support. The lumbar support should be a full 10″ curve extending 2″ out from the surface of the lower seat back at 8″ above the seat reference plane. The seat reference plane is the level where the seat pad is completely compressed. If the seat is built with little or no “hump” there must be some means of adjustment in and out.

Ergonomic Essential #4

Full support of the concave areas of the spine. The thoracic spine has a backward curve or “convex” shape. The spinal processes or “fins” spread apart naturally, so the upper back needs less support. The concave areas of the spinal column however need a great deal more support than the convex areas. To accomplish this, the seat should have supports consisting of medium durometer “closed cell” foam rubber.

Ergonomic Essential #5

Sufficient protection of the cervical spine. The cervical spine is the upper part of the spinal column which is fairly fragile but is often disregarded in automotive seat design. The head weighs on the order of 10-15 lbs. The erector muscles in the neck work very hard to balance the cranium. In an accident the incidence of whiplash is very likely because the head is bounced against the headrest and there is nothing to protect the neck. There are over 120,000 reported whiplash cases in the US alone each year, and unreported cases are perhaps 3 times that. Accordingly, cervical support should be integral with the headrest.

Ergonomic Essential #6

Proper placement of the headrest. The occipital bone is typically what touches the headrest. This is the major attachment to the neck. Many headrests are mounted too far back for the typical occupant to rest on during long trips. This disparity leads to slouching, which leads to other discomforts in the body.

One of the greatest selling features of a car is driver comfort, and the key to giving your customers the greatest comfort and safety possible is a truly ergonomically designed car seat. Not only will your customers enjoy a healthier, more pleasant driving experience throughout the life of the car, they will also have a better test drive experience that may very well make the difference between a sale that is lost or gained. Incorporating authentic ergonomic design into your next car seat is not only good for your customer’s safety, wellbeing and happiness; it’s also great for your company’s bottom line.

Ergonomic Furniture (Click for larger view)

Ergonomic furniture designed to suit varied human structures and bodily postures. Furniture that would make you feel secure and at ease during the most stressful circumstances at work. De-motivated and fatigued manpower only helps in generating marginal or no profits. Employees are the backbone of each organization. They are the forerunners of various profit generating operations. No organization would like to incur unnecessary expense of illness due to workplace.

A small investment on the ergonomic furniture that adjusts to the physiology of human body is always better for generating an efficient and active manpower. Ergonomics is the study of human being and his interaction with the surrounding environment. It studies how the environment and physical objects affect human well being. Ergonomic experts have devised physiology friendly furniture to boost the energy levels of employees. This category of furniture is known as “ergonomic furniture”. Almost everything you use at work has an ergonomic version. Chairs, keyboards, desks, mouse etc. all have been designed in various styles for permitting maximum comfort to muscles while working.

One may argue why should he or she invest in ergonomic furniture? The answer lies within oneself. Honestly, ask yourself if you would be relaxed working on devices that tense your muscles everyday? Of course not, that is why ergonomic range of furniture comes to your rescue. Ergonomic furniture is highly adjustable, flexible and comfortable. It supports human physiology in endless ways.

The ergonomic keyboards of today save thousands of keystrokes a day, thus reducing muscle tension and wrist twists through the day. Ergonomic furniture saves human body from various routine problems like backache, headache, stiff shoulder muscles etc. They also tend to reduce ailments like carpel tunnel syndrome and RSI from daily life. Ergonomic furniture tends to eliminate the most damaging types of bodily postures from our routine life. The ergonomic chairs of today provide maximum support to back while working. They are highly adjustable to fit any human structure and posture.

The ergonomic keyboards are so designed for providing maximum support to fingers, hands, palms and arms. These keyboards put the least stress on shoulders thereby reducing backaches. Office ergonomic also suggests ergonomic workstations, mouse etc. office ergonomics suggests incorporating 5 min breaks every 1 hour and 15 min break after every 2 hours of work. Stretching is considered essential to reduce muscle tension for avoiding muscle and skeleton disorders.

Ergonomic furniture is designed keeping office ergonomics in mind. It aims at providing maximum comfort and support to human body. The furniture is so designed to eliminate flaws in bodily postures thereby reducing physical or physiological ailments. An investment in ergonomic furniture is a must for generating an effectively and de-stressed workforce. It helps in increasing profits and improving the morale of workforce too.

By: Leon Groom
Editor: Ergonomic and Health

Furthermore in all probability if any single piece of office furniture that has experienced the most alteration in due course, it simply has to become the ever-present office chairs. While using advent of computer systems and electronic systems into our function profiles, for sure, has had a most significant influence on how office chairs have developed within the fullness of time.

Vibrant, petite, all the very same brilliantly and ergonomically intended rotating office chairs are more in style of late across the board. These petite office chairs seem to get in truth smart on top of it are at ease and simultaneously most up to the minute in a superb variety of offices and businesses. Besides, additionally they add to and look immediately after outstandingly superior operate ambiance for this reason the office employees experiences a lesser amount of exhaustion even soon after functioning tough for the total day carrying out their tasks.

That is since of the ergonomic design integrated inside fabrication of this kind of chairs such as improved lessen and higher again assist, adjustable armrest as well as headrest, cushioned seat, reclining facility, revolving base and caster wheels to move close to with out restraint, all of this aid in saving power and remove pull from the backbone and aid remain relaxed for the entire day.

One particular a lot more quite considerable transformation that has taken area is in the moment even persons in cost or the senior decision-makers too desires to avail the identical class of office chairs as the other frequent office staff, simply for their consolation and ease. Even if this growth is just about within the rise and it merely can’t be acknowledged to be a common and commonly agreed rule.

It transpires the moment a boss is sitting too and operating in firm of a lot of other of his staff or reduced level executives. Or else, far more generally than not, you just discover the manager have a special cabin or area for sitting. It follows that, the mandatory colossal even when extremely comfy leather high again office chairs are else blocked. Of late, the prominent directors have grown for being audacious while using colours of their ergonomic chairs.

Additionally, the seminar space has its special wants too. In a great variety of the seminar room you are going to come across leather-based along with other similarly relaxed office chairs for each one that evaluate adequately with the chair of your company head. On the assembly table, on the two the ends, the personality who’s going to present the presentation will sit down and obliges getting a better-quality and larger office chair. But again, this can be greatest complements individual preferences as nicely as tastes.

It is possible to basically invest in vibrant and ergonomic office chairs for the office from a neighboring office furniture shop or from an office furniture retailer on the internet. Nevertheless, earlier than putting your order, assess charges and attributes of the chairs on present.

By: Angelinne Darmack
Editor: Ergonomic and Health

Ergonomic design applied in a phrase working smart not hard. Increasingly, ergonomic industrial designers are creating functional, comfortable and easy-to-use products. Ergonomic design tries to help reduce physical stress, maintain energy and allow the gardener to enjoy more time outdoors.

According to the experts at Honda Power Equipment, attaining the right cut for that coveted yard of the month starts with an easy-to-use mower. “Lawn mowing should be as productive and effortless as possible. When the operator has to constantly grip the handlebars to increase speed, adjust a jerking mower on an incline, or wrestle to fit it in the garage, mowing becomes a chore,” said Kristen Delaney of Honda product planning. At Honda Power Equipment, manufacturers of a complete line of lawn care equipment, part of technological innovation is ergonomic designing for equipment that adjusts the job to the worker.

Recent news stories document that baby boomers are generally healthier and more active than generations before, demanding products that fit their lifestyles.

For example, the all-new Honda HRR Series lawn mower that delivers an ergonomic design and affordable mowing experience is one example of a lawn care product designed to meet these needs.

The HRR Series, developed and tested by Honda R&D and an ergonomic design specialist, incorporates unique design elements that make easy work of mowing.

One ergonomic design feature is the HRR216K3VXA model’s SMART Drive™ transmission, allowing users to easily control the mower’s speed simply by resting their hands on the handlebars. By placing either one or both thumbs on the lever, the operator can easily control the mower’s speed and even mow with one hand.

The HRR also incorporates an EZ Grip ErgoActive™ handle that relieves stress on the hands; the quick-release folding handlebars also make storage simple and easy, even in confined spaces.

Ergonomic design tries to help reduce physical stress, maintain energy and allow the gardener to enjoy more time outdoors.

By: Trevor Russell
Editor: Ergonomic and Health