In the News

Print this article 

The ergonomics of standing and sitting at work

Few things are more natural than standing or sitting. They pose no particular health hazard in and of themselves, but at work, where posture is dictated by the work area and by the various tasks a worker must perform, the potential for adverse health affects is real.

The layout of the workstation and tools as well as the placement of keys, controls and displays have a major impact on the health and comfort level experienced by the employee. Working in a standing position on a regular basis can cause sore feet, swelling of the legs, varicose veins, general muscular fatigue, low back pain, stiffness in the neck and shoulders, and other health problems.

Sitting jobs require less muscular effort, but that does not exempt people from the injury risks usually associated with more physically demanding tasks. For example, clerks, electronic assembly-line employees and data entry operators also suffer back pain, muscle tenderness and aches. In fact, reports of varicose veins, stiff necks, and numbness in the legs are more common among seated employees than among those doing heavier tasks.

A well-designed workplace combined with a well-designed job makes it possible to work in a balanced position without unnecessary strain on the body. Work practices can make the job either safer or more hazardous. Individual work habits are shaped by proper training and by supervisors who encourage workers to use the skills they have learned. All these elements--training and supervision, coupled with active worker input--can result in sound work practices and are essential to healthy and safe work.

It's important to consider the tasks when designing a workstation:

• Sitting jobs involve a combination of visual, manual and foot tasks.
• Visual tasks place tension on the neck, trunk and pelvis. Strain reduction is the goal and can often be accomplished with the proper positioning of visual tasks or by reducing the amount of time employees spend on each task.
• Manual tasks affect body position through both the movement and the forces involved. For light manipulating tasks, wrist and arm support may help. Heavier tasks may call for the work surface to be arranged below the employee's elbow height. The goal is to keep the worker's spine vertically aligned while exerting force. Loads should not have to be lifted or transferred horizontally.
• Allowing employees to support their body evenly is also important for foot tasks. Pedals should be located directly in front to prevent hips from twisting.
• The choice of chair should not be made in isolation.

Standing tasks require a different perspective. The basic principles of good job design for standing work are:

• Change working positions frequently
• Avoid extreme bending, stretching and twisting
• Pace work appropriately
• Allow workers suitable rest periods to relax; exercises may also help
• Provide instruction on proper work practices and the use of rest breaks
• Allow workers an adjustment period after a vacation or illness so they can gradually return to a regular work pace

Hazard Alerts

Print this article 

Preventing deadly van rollovers

Loading up 15-passenger vans with more than 10 people greatly increases the risk of rollovers, research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the USA has found. The weight of so many passengers shifts the vehicle's centre of gravity rearward, reducing resistance to rollovers.

The research has been borne out in two fatal accidents in two years involving agricultural workers in British Columbia, which prompted an Accident Alert from the Prevention Division of British Columbia's WCB. The accidents, this summer and last year, also injured a total of 24.

Read Full Alert

The vans are widely used by community organizations for outings, by colleges to transport sports teams and by commuters in van (car) pools. Because of their size and width, and the risks, the WCB's Prevention Division recommends that organizations select one or two regular drivers for the vans to increase their experience level.

More than 90 per cent of rollovers researched by the NHTSA occur after a driver lost control and ran off the road. Some 80 per cent of fatalities involved passengers who were not wearing their seatbelts. NHTSA estimates that people who wear their seat belts are about 75 percent less likely to be killed in a rollover crash than people who don't as many of the fatalities occur when people are thrown from the vehicle.

Three major causes of the rollovers are:

• The van leaves the road in a rural area and overturns after striking a ditch, soft soil or other object
• The driver is tired or driving too fast for conditions
• The driver overcorrects the steering after a wheel drops off the pavement or as a panic reaction to another event

If a wheel does drop off the pavement, drivers should gradually reduce speed and steer back onto the roadway when it is safe to do so. They should also insist that, when the van is not full, passengers sit in seats in front of the rear axle.

OSH Answers

Print this article 

The safe business traveler

Safe business travel is about timing; things like ensuring you arrive at your destination before darkness falls. It's about planning and referencing government websites to research your foreign destination.

But, above all, making sure business, not safety or health, remains the focus of your travel is about preparation and precautions.

Whether traveling to a distant country or to a nearby city, it pays to plan and to pay attention to your surroundings. Some precautions are obvious: Don't draw attention by flashing large amounts of cash or expensive jewelry. Other preparations only come with hard luck experience: Bring enough medicine to last your trip and some extra, in case your return is delayed.

Here's a summarized checklist of items to make sure you have planned and are prepared:

• Information on your destination country
• Itinerary and budget
• Health and travel insurance
• Check passport expiry date, make copies
• Visas
• Dual citizenship: is it an issue?
• Vaccinations, medications, prescriptions, medical certificate, supplies
• Children: ensure they have their own passport, make custody arrangements, obtain certified documentation
• Bringing back goods: receipts for purchases, special arrangements for food, animals, plants, etc.

CCOHS has extensive information on traveling safely for business, including numerous government links, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which maintains up-to-date information on the health, security and safety situations in countries around the world.

Partner News

Print this article 

Have a healthy week at work

Canada's Healthy Workplace Week (CHWW) turns three this year and its gaining momentum with both large and small organizations. The intention of the week - coming October 20-26 - is to provide short and long-term workplace health strategies that focus on the five 'drivers' of healthy workplace development:

• leadership
• planning
• process management
• people focus
• outcomes

A major online resource, www.healthyworkplaceweek.ca, provides ideas on how to get started and offers both long-term strategies and a variety of activities for the week. Among them is an organizational health quiz that adds a little fun to the serious business of workplace health education.

A second feature is the Resource Well, a place to find and share workplace health and wellness information. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety (CCOHS) reviews, maintains and stocks the well. CCOHS is also the Workplace Health Affiliate Partner of the Canadian Health Network (CHN) (http://www.canadian-health-network.ca/1workplace_health.html) and is responsible for selecting resources and developing content for CHN's Workplace Health Centre.

CCOHS joins a number of partners to support Canada's Healthy Workplace Week, a partnership of the National Quality Institute (NQI) http://www.nqi.ca/, GlobalMedic (a subsidiary of the Canadian Medical Association) http://www.globalmedic.com/L2/index.jsp and the Health, Work and Wellness Conference http://www.healthworkandwellness.com/.

The week is open to all to participate. Even small businesses with just a few employees can get involved.

CCOHS News

Print this article 

Martin O'Connell leaves a legacy of caring

The Honourable Martin Patrick O'Connell, Ph.D., believed in public service, honesty, fairness, justice and humility. He advanced humanitarian aims and the cause of those less fortunate. When he died August 11 in Toronto of Parkinson's disease, Canada lost a warm personality with extraordinary energy and insightful intelligence.

A federal politician elected in 1968 and 1974, O'Connell was a Minister of State, and twice Minister of Labour. He created CCOHS during his second term as Minister of Labour and went on to chair the organization for five years. Earlier in life, he was one of the policy designers whose work led to the creation of the Canada Pension Plan, Medicare and the Municipal Loan Development Fund. Throughout the 1960's he served as the president of the Indian and Eskimo Association and brought attention to the many difficulties indigenous peoples suffered. In 1993 he was the co-founder and first co-chairman of The Canadian Foundation for the Preservation of Chinese Cultural and Historical Treasures.

O'Connell started his career as a public school teacher in the BC school system then completed a BA at Queen's University. He was a veteran of the Second World War and completed his education at the University of Toronto with an MA then Ph.D. in political economy.

He was appointed Chairman of CCOHS' Council of Governors during the formative years of the Centre. During his term from 1984 to 1989, he helped chart a course of facilitation and information sharing, avoiding potential jurisdictional turf wars that would come with trying to set national standards. Part of his legacy is the continued warm working relations between government, unions and employers, who make up the tripartite leadership of CCOHS.

O'Connell's varied contributions to the Canadian social fabric revolved around the causes of those less fortunate and he will be remembered as one who distinguished himself by guiding his life on the principles of honesty, justice and humility and treating others with dignity and respect. O'Connell, born in Victoria, leaves behind his wife of 58 years, Helen, two children and four grandchildren. He was 87.