Ensure workplace safety with ergonomics
Correct office environment reduces risk of injury

Oak Park resident Karen Wright of ErgoConcepts announced she has begun offering professional ergonomic services to area offices and businesses.

With increasing changes in the workplace environment, including the mass use of computers, the the amount of on-the-job musculoskeletal injuries is rising dramatically.

Risk factors include awkward posture and repetitive use syndrome. Each year these injuries cost the U.S. economy between $13 billion and $20 billion in healthcare costs, workers’ compensation claims and lost productivity, industry sources say.

Wright, a certified ergonomist, has been working in the field of orthopedic physical therapy for over 20 years and estimates that 75 percent of the injuries she sees are work-related.

What is ergonomics? Simply put, it is the science of improving the correct “fit” between people, their work environments and the tasks they are performing.

Ergonomics encompasses a wide range of disciplines, including physical activities (lifting and stacking boxes or typing on a computer keyboard), cognitive processes (making decisions) and organizational systems (developing office policies and procedures).

Although the the study of ergonomics has been around since the early 19th century, it wasn’t until recently that ergonomically correct office chairs and other workplace tools have been available.

The state of California currently requires ergonomic intervention if there is a minimum of two work-related injuries in the same company. Ergonomics is about prevention, says Wright, who works with both companies and individual employees.

Call ErgoConcepts and Wright at (818) 451-8008, or e-mail karenwright@ergoconceptsllc.com.