Practical Ergonomics Has Arrived! An Introduction and First Bit of Advice.

As my first official blog entry for Practical Ergonomics, I would like to introduce myself and Practical Ergonomics.

My name is Ross Koehler. I have been practicing ergonomics for 15 years – and it’s time to bring real ergonomics to hard working people. To me, ergonomics is much more than a marketing term, cool phrase, or buzzword.

Ergonomics surrounds everything that we do all the time.

My goal is to share Practical Ergonomic advice to the masses in the hope that we live without injury, accomplish our goals, and work smarter, not harder. Ergonomics is NOT only for when we are on the clock.

I will do this by sharing ergonomics using various online media channels, consulting with individuals both in-person and virtually, and by creating top notch ergonomics courses. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are at, or what you do – ergonomics information will be accessible to all.

Most people and organizations recognize and appreciate ergonomics. But do they really understand it? Do they really see the value in it? When and how do we learn about ergonomics? Do we really know and practice good ergonomics?

Here lies the issue. Textbook ergonomics is well known. Putting it into practice is another story. Here’s an example. When I ask groups to tell me how to properly lift, they give me the textbook response :

“Lift with your legs, not your back and keep your back straight”.

This response is not wrong, but it does have its flaws. Not to be pessimistic here, but when I turn around a minute later and see someone lifting something up, their form is horrible with their butt higher than their hips which presents an injury just waiting to happen. How can this be? It’s like autopilot is turned on an we forget to put what we know into practice.

Ergonomics, like sports, is a physical craft. It is recognized and understood in the classroom, but the practical application by many is limited. Like sports, ergonomics needs to be practiced and repeated to form good working habits and muscle memory. The truth is that there is more than one way to lift. But it is rarely taught and even worse, never practiced and rarely reinforced.

Remember your high school coach yelling at you about your form? No one gives this type of feedback in the workplace.

Practical Ergonomics was formed on the principle that we don’t know what we don’t know. My objective for both individuals and organizations is to provide quality ergonomics instruction and guidance that is simply practical.

I cannot count the number of times that I have heard people say:

“I wish I had an ergonomics person like you at my location.”

This comment usually comes after I give a high energy ergonomics awareness training to a group and l am deeply humbled by this. I get pumped when I see the light bulbs go off when people see, understand, and apply ergonomics from different perspectives. Not just another death by PowerPoint safety training.

My perspective of ergonomics is rooted in my sports medicine background. Working with injured people all the time gets old – I’d rather be on the proactive side of things. And this is where my career in ergonomics was born.

My experiences have allowed me to work with professionals across various industries including:

• corporate wellness
• commercial printing
• power and natural gas distribution
• Call and dispatch centers
• Agricultural equipment manufacturing

As I turn the corner into the next chapter of my career as a Certified Professional Ergonomist (one of less than 850 worldwide by the way), I will bring ergonomics knowledge and wisdom to the masses. I’ll be doing blog entries like this, making videos and posting them on my YouTube channel, creating on-demand learning opportunities, and meeting with people and organizations to address ergonomics related issues.

I look forward to bringing you the latest and greatest that ergonomics has to offer, so make sure you subscribe to my email list so you are the first to see what’s going on in the world of ergonomics and most importantly, to help yourself prevent injury, be a better consumer, work smarter – not harder, and to get the job done.

But wait! I’m not going to end here without giving you a glimpse of what’s to come…

I’ll pick on what you are doing right now – reading from a screen.

What posture is your neck in?

Is it flexed with the chin to chest?

Or is your neck straight up in line with your spine?

If you are reading from a phone or tablet in hand, there is a good chance that your neck is flexed so your chin is close to your chest.

Why would you do that? You are reading and ergonomics blog for goodness sake!!!

This is not good ergonomics and honestly, it’s the sacrifice we make when we choose portability and accessibility over adjustability. You can improve by setting the tablet on an angled stand which helps, but poor neck posture when using handheld devices will always be an ergonomic challenge.

Sure, you can hold it up higher out in front of you. Your arms will just get tired though. Make sure you look up often and even stretching your neck out.

An early mentor and fellow ergonomics professional of mine had a saying:

“You work into a posture, you need to stretch out of it.”

This means that if you are assuming any posture for a prolonged period of time (even good posture), you need to stretch in the opposite direction. This increases blood flow and loosens the muscles.

Are you reading from a laptop screen? This is better than the phone or tablet as the screen is higher up and larger. But I bet you still have neck flexion.

1. Placing the laptop on a countertop or tabletop is better than on your lap due to the monitor being elevated higher, reducing neck flexion.
2. Angling the screen to a 45 degree angle is better than the screen laying flat on a surface.
3. Try using a lap desk. Using one will keep your lap cooler (away from laptop heat) and it will raise your monitor up higher. It’s not perfect, but it is better. If you are a frequent laptop or tablet user from your couch or recliner, you have to try it. It really does make a difference.

If you are reading from a computer monitor, your posture should be the best. The top of your monitor should be equal to eye level, and you should have almost no neck flexion.

There you have it, my first tip to reduce neck strain and fatigue while reading blog posts, or shopping, or working, or whatever you do on your screens. To not miss out on the next one, make sure to subscribe to the Practical Ergonomics email list.

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