design – Page 45 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

Ergonomics of quad bikes – new research

While the New Zealand government is investigating agricultural safety issues, researchers from the University of Otago have looked at the ergonomic issues associated with the loss of control (LOC) of quad bikes by drivers.

According to a University of Otago media release, researchers Dr Stephan Milosavljevic and Dr Allan Carman published a paper in the current edition of Ergonomics. The researchers

“….set out to analyse the driving behaviour of people who regularly use quad bikes, recognising a need to find out why people lose control of them so frequently.

Of the 30 male rural workers and farmers studied, 19 of them, or 63 percent, had experienced loss of control on a quad bike. They were in their mid 40s on average, and about eight to nine years younger and less experienced than those who did not lose control. Continue reading “Ergonomics of quad bikes – new research”

If laptop design is hazardous, what does this say about the iPad?

Recently SafetyAtWorkBlog received some promotional material from a laptop accessory supplier, ErgoAustralia, which stated that laptops may be “the RSI of this decade especially for the growing bones and muscles of our children”. The aim of the information was to show how accessories can reduce the risk of using laptop computers.

There is no doubt that this is so. This blog is often written in a cafe through a fold away keyboard and back at the office, the laptop sits on a stand with a wireless keyboard and mouse but the laptop is not the principal PC on which work is performed. That is a desktop PC.

When laptops are the only computer option and the work tasks rely on laptops, the complications and hazards occur.

Rick Clancy of ErgoAustralia provided the following quotes in support of the dangers of laptops:

Alan Hedge from Cornell University says the following “Guidelines for laptop use are more difficult because laptop design inherently is problematic – Continue reading “If laptop design is hazardous, what does this say about the iPad?”

Is forklift safety a fantasy of OHS professionals?

Recently a colleague brought a YouTube video on forklift safety to the attention of SafetyAtWorkBlog. The video illustrates the risks associated with jumping from a tilting forklift. By comparing this to a mouse trap, the Washington Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) is illustrating the importance of the safety cage on forklifts and the role of seatbelts. The video is from around 2005 and remains fundamentally sound in its advice.

Seatbelts are a continuously contentious safety advice on forklifts, not because they do not work, but because very few forklift operators use them. Yet the seatbelt restraint is integral to the driver’s safety in a tipping forklift as the video below illustrates.

Small business can equal depression, stress and mental health problems

According to an article in the Australian Financial Review on 16 February 2010 (only available online through subscription):

“The isolation of working at home or in a small shop or factory by themselves can wear down many in the small and medium enterprise sector. In the most severe cases, it can lead to depression and cause major problems for their family and business.”

Andrew Griffiths provides a quote that illustrates well the work/life conflict in the small business sector: Continue reading “Small business can equal depression, stress and mental health problems”

Vehicle crane safety alert

The Queensland Government has issued a safety alert of the purchasing and use of vehicle-based loading cranes (VLC). The alert has originated from two deaths where the operator of the cranes were struck by the booms.

The safety advice offered by the government is sound – follow manufacturer’s instructions, provide suitable training – but it focusses on the lower order of control methods without asking the hard question – whether the design of such a crane is unsafe?

From the information in the alert it seems peculiar that such a crane should be on sale at all. Continue reading “Vehicle crane safety alert”

Okay, I don’t smell but am I safe?

King Gee recently released a range of work clothing that is manufactured using a technique that reduces the wearer’s body odour. A sample was sent to SafetyAtWorkBlog unrequested. For those tradespeople with a body odour issue, the clothing may be a godsend, maybe more so for the people they have to work with. The new clothing has received at least one media mention.

The issue that has stopped me from wearing the sample shirt is that the “odour-killing” properties are due to a process of:

“…. engineering molecules at the nanoscale …[that] transforms the very fibers of the fabric to provide unsurpassed odour elimination.”

Nanotechnology is a recent technology that is being applied widely but without a detailed consideration of the possible health effects to the user, the environment and to those who manufacture nano-materials. Continue reading “Okay, I don’t smell but am I safe?”

Australia’s Comcare issues safety alert on quad bikes

On 22 January 2010 Comcare issued a safety alert concerning the use of quad bikes (available on the Comcare website from 25 January 2010):

“Employers who own and operate quad bikes should be aware of the hazards and potential safety risks.

Following some recent accidents while operating quad bikes, a draft Code of Practice is currently being developed by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and Distributors [FCAI] relating to the ‘Use of All Terrain Vehicles in the Workplace’.

Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA) has also formed a working party comprising of OHS Regulators and industry representatives to look at strategies to improve quad bike safety. Continue reading “Australia’s Comcare issues safety alert on quad bikes”

Category: design

Ergonomics of quad bikes – new research

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If laptop design is hazardous, what does this say about the iPad?

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Is forklift safety a fantasy of OHS professionals?

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Small business can equal depression, stress and mental health problems

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Vehicle crane safety alert

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Okay, I don’t smell but am I safe?

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Australia’s Comcare issues safety alert on quad bikes

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