Improve Office Ergonomics

Office ergonomics can improve (or hurt) well-being

Did you know that over 60% of office workers are feeling discomfort? Or that musculoskeletal disorders (MSD’s) account for a third of workers’ compensation claims? Improving office ergonomics is quickly becoming a necessity.

This inspired the creation of the Rapid Office Strain Assessment, or ROSA. This online tool guides users through an office ergonomic self-assessment. ROSA provides immediate recommendations on adjustments that will reduce their risk of discomfort and eventually injury.

ROSA has been around for a few years and is a science-based process that has been peer-reviewed. For example, there are over 170 citations around the globe of the original paper. The methodology is now being taught at several universities. It has also been translated into several languages.

Development and evaluation of office ergonomic risk

Cited over 170 times, this paper demonstrates ROSA’s efficacy.

Actual Results in the Office

There are also real-world examples of how ROSA has improved office ergonomics with tangible results. In fact, a Top 20 globally ranked university has been using ROSA for their office ergonomics program for a few years.

As a result, 87% of their users were able to make meaningful changes to their workstations. Discomfort levels have steadily dropped, reducing the risk of discomfort or MSD’s by ~20%.

In another example, Hamilton Health Sciences achieved similar results. In a one year time period, they completed 431 assessments and noted a decrease of ~45% in computer workstation MSDs.

As a result, Lisa Gilmour, Manager Health, Safety & Wellness Initiatives said, “The results provided meaningful change and helped improve the wellness of our colleagues.”

The Impact of Office Ergonomics

Each MSD incident can cost thousands of dollars. These are meaningful results that can improve the well-being of your employees and their productivity. So your business saves money and increases productivity.

To learn more about ROSA, click here, or contact MyAbilities here.

Dr. Michael Sonne, PhD, CCPE
Dr. Michael Sonne, PhD, CCPE

Mike is the creator of the Rapid Office Strain Assessment, or ROSA, which is being taught at numerous universities around the globe.

Google Scholar Link
February 28, 2020 Ergonomics, MyAbilities, Research Comments Off on Office ergonomics can improve (or hurt) well-being

Research Review: Is physical capacity associated with the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms among office workers?

Injury occurs when the demands of a job exceed the capacity of a worker. Primarily, the capacity of a worker is focused on the physical strength that they possess – how much muscle force can be generated by the muscles of the lower back, shoulder, etc. However, other factors inherent to the job can also reduce the worker’s physical capacity – including the mental capacity of the worker. In assessing the ergonomics of a workplace, both the mental, and the physical demands must be assessed to determine the true risk of injury that a job inherently has.

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July 8, 2019 Ergonomics, Research Comments Off on Research Review: Is physical capacity associated with the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms among office workers?

The DOL Strength Levels – does oversimplifying job demands increase exposure to injury risk?

Written by: Mike Sonne, PhD, CCPE

Summary: The DOL strength levels classify jobs into 5 separate categories defined by force/weight, and frequency of exertion. The classification system leads to a broad oversimplification of the demands of work, which in the worst case can lead to over and under estimates of physical demands of over 500%. A much more granular system is needed to better understand the different physical demands of work, and how that  can be used in return to work, and injury prevention.

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June 3, 2019 Ergonomics, Research Comments Off on The DOL Strength Levels – does oversimplifying job demands increase exposure to injury risk?

Video Kinematics Produces Physical Job Demand Descriptions on Steroids

March 26, 2019 BY AMAXX / Michael B. Stack

How familiar are you with the physical demands of every job in your company? That may sound like a loaded question, but the more understanding you have of each job, the better you’ll be at preventing injuries, reducing workers’ compensation costs and improving your bottom line.

However, many companies face the challenge of lack of time or resources to do a thorough and complete job of developing a physical demands database. The development of technology and artificial intelligence now makes this easy.

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March 26, 2019 Medical and Claims Management, Research Comments Off on Video Kinematics Produces Physical Job Demand Descriptions on Steroids

Unlocking the potential of your Physical Demands Descriptions

Welcome to MyAbilities! My name is Mike Sonne, and I am the Vice President of Innovations and Research. I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of MyAbilities, and develop new, well-researched ergonomics tools, that will make workers lives better.

I have worked in ergonomics for the past 10 years, where I completed doctoral research on automotive manufacturing ergonomics, and a masters thesis on developing developed the Rapid Office Strain Assessment. After nearly 2 years of engineering, the MyAbilities team is excited to be bringing you our platform’s first offering – the digital job profiling and physical demands analysis tool. Every ergonomist probably started their career conducting physical demands analyses – the process of meticulously detailing every demand of a job. With a good PDA database, your company builds up a cook book of the physical requirements needed to perform the individual recipes of jobs in your organization.

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April 19, 2018 Ergonomics, Medical and Claims Management, Research Comments Off on Unlocking the potential of your Physical Demands Descriptions
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