So, you’ve successfully carried out an ergonomics risk assessment and identified a collection of ergonomics issues within your business — fantastic… but what now?

Revealing ergonomics risks is only half the battle. To minimize or—ideally—completely remove the risks in question requires an airtight intervention strategy with a swift and lasting impact. A misstep during the intervention phase can waste resources.

In this article, we guide you through the steps of an effective ergonomic intervention, from planning through to execution and post-intervention analysis.

Prioritize Ergonomic Risks

The depth of pre-mediation and pro-active mitigation required of ergonomic interventions means it is often infeasible to try and combat all risks at once; effective interventions are focused and highly strategic ergonomic solutions.

As such, the first and most essential step of any form of risk intervention should be to make a priority list. Your list should order risks based on multiple criteria, including:

• The severity of a threat: The real-life impact on employees
• The frequency of the threat: Likelihood of risk occurrence based on past records and employee feedback
• The feasibility of potential solutions: Are solutions realistic based on various relevant factors, e.g., the finances of the company, the risk environment, etc.
• Legality and ethical considerations: Are there any elements of removing a risk that may have a legal or ethical undertone that should be addressed?
• The forecasted benefits: How significant the results of an intervention might be, e.g., lower injury rates, improved productivity, reduced staff churn, greater compliance, etc
• Stakeholder needs: Consider how targeting a particular risk would impact all stakeholders in the business

With so many different elements to weigh up, creating this list can be complex, but a scoring matrix can help you assign quantitative values to all possible answers to the above considerations. 

Then, it’s simply a matter of ordering risks numerically based on their scores. Those with the highest scores should be addressed first.

Plan Your Ergonomic Intervention

With your list complete and your crosshairs set firmly on the priority risk, it’s time to shape the approach your business will take to implement an effective ergonomics risk intervention.

Intervention Classification

This process begins by deciding what sort of intervention is necessary — generally speaking, all ergonomics risk solutions fit into one or more of the three following categories:

• Engineering: These interventions involve the physical manipulations that alter the risk itself or paths of exposure to the risk. For example, this might include bringing ergonomic chairs into an office and ensuring desks are set up in accordance with ergonomics best practices.
• Behavioural: These interventions are designed to modify an employee’s work habits and capacities. They may, for instance, have developed a slouched work position, increasing the likelihood of WMSDs (Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders).
• Administrative: These interventions center around minimizing hazards by reimagining procedures and retroactively introducing ergonomics principles into work processes.

Intervention Goals & Objectives

Your ergonomic interventions should be mapped out similarly to your marketing strategies.

Effective risk mitigation requires clearly defined goals, as well as objectives, that signify progress towards the desired outcome. At this stage, you should make an effort to inform all stakeholders of the intervention focus and seek their input regarding the specifics of the plan moving forward.

Intervention objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), allowing you to track your progress and adjust your approach as needed.

By establishing clear goals and objectives for your ergonomic interventions, you can better prioritize resources, monitor performance, and demonstrate the impact of your efforts on the overall success of the organization.

Let’s take a look at an example:

Consider a manufacturing facility where repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) have been identified as a significant risk due to prolonged periods of computer use in administrative tasks. Here’s how we can define the goal of the intervention and set measurable objectives:

Goal:

Reduce the incidence of repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) among administrative staff by improving ergonomic workstations and promoting healthy work habits.

Objectives:

1. Assess Workstations: Complete ergonomic assessments for all administrative workstations within 3 months.
2. Implement Improvements: Modify workstations based on assessment findings within 6 months.
3. Provide Training: Conduct ergonomic training sessions for all administrative staff within 2 months.
4. Monitor Effectiveness: Establish a monitoring process and track progress quarterly.
5. Reduce RSI Incidence: Decrease reported RSIs by 20% compared to the previous year by the end of the fiscal year.

Budgeting

With the timeline of your plan marked out by your objectives, you should have the information required to estimate your required budget. 

You may need to go back and forth between this stage and the goal-setting phase until you finalize an effective action plan that accounts for cost constraints.

Setting Roles

An ergonomics intervention is a concerted effort, so all parties involved must be assigned specific roles. They must also understand how their roles relate to the objectives of the intervention — as well as the overarching goal.

Use simple, clear language during this phase of the planning. Miscommunications can slow progress and contribute to interventions going over budget.

Stage Your Intervention

When you’re certain your planning is complete, you can set a date to begin implementing the ergonomics intervention. Be sure to announce this date so all parties can coordinate and carry out their duties in a synchronized fashion.

You’ll need to use the data from the risk assessment carried out at the start of this guide to establish your baseline. You can then accurately monitor your progress, removing any guessing or assumptions from the process.

Adequate training must be provided to all affected by changes introduced by the intervention. For example, if the intervention involves new equipment, employees need to be taught how to use it and how it benefits them. 

However, the same is true whether the intervention introduces new equipment or not. For instance, if the goal of the intervention is to reduce MSDs in the workplace by improving staff posture, training and education must be provided, as fostering real behavioral change requires more than simply telling people to do their job differently.

Staff must understand how the proposed changes align with their needs and preferences.

Evaluate your intervention

Evaluating the effectiveness of an ergonomic intervention involves both quantitative and qualitative measurements to assess its impact on the health, safety, and productivity of the workforce. 

Here are some key steps to evaluate effectiveness:

1. Objective Metrics: Utilize quantitative data such as injury rates, absenteeism, productivity levels, and ergonomic risk assessments to measure changes before and after the intervention.
2. Observations: Conduct observations to assess whether ergonomic improvements have been implemented correctly and are being used as intended.
3. Employee Feedback: Gather qualitative data through surveys, interviews, and focus groups to understand employees’ perceptions of the intervention and whether it has improved their comfort, satisfaction, and overall well-being.
4. Performance Analysis: Analyze performance indicators related to job tasks affected by the intervention to determine if there are improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and quality of work.
5. Long-term Monitoring: Continuously monitor the effectiveness of the intervention over time to ensure sustained improvements and identify any new issues that may arise.

Ergonomics Interventions Made Easy with Healthy Working

A lot of resources and work go into an effective ergonomics risk intervention, but with our award-winning global ergonomics risk management software, Healthy Working, you can streamline the process and significantly reduce associated administration and training fees.

Combining tailored eLearning, virtual ergonomics self-assessments, and a central management hub, Healthy Working makes ergonomics risk management seamless and sustainable. It not only mitigates immediate risks but also cultivates a culture of proactive prevention.

Our software, alongside Cardinus’ team of expert ergonomists, guides interventions through to completion, ensuring that positive changes become ingrained habits.

Try Healthy Working for free.

Final Thoughts

Staging an effective ergonomics intervention is essential for ensuring the health, safety, and productivity of your workforce. By focusing on ergonomic risks, carefully planning interventions, and evaluating their effectiveness, organizations can combine the pursuit of employee health and wellness with core business goals — everybody wins.

For expert guidance on ergonomics or to learn more about our solutions, contact Cardinus today. Let’s work together to build a safer and more ergonomic workplace environment for everyone.