The current International Ergonomics Congress in Melbourne seems to be successful in a number of ways: The size and variety of its program The quality of its keynote speakers Out of 900 delegates, 600 are from outside Australia. Where it seemed to be less successful was in its profile outside of the ergonomics profession. The …
The 19thTriennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2015) is currently running in Melbourne Australia with 900 delegates, of which 600 are from outside Australia. It offers a fascinating (online) library of ergonomic and occupational health and safety (OHS) research. Below is a sample of the research on offer picked, largely, at random. It …
The media’s focus on standing desks continues in Australia with the PM radio program on 7 May 15 stating: “If you thought those standing desks, and even the newer treadmill desks, were a fad, think again.” This compounds the continuing distraction from organisational causes to individual adaptability and encourages short-term thinking on occupational health and …
Over the last week Australian media has been reporting on office workers using standing workstations. Given sedentary working has been shown to have negative health effects, standing seems sensible as it increases mobility but is it enough to stand? Or is this recent media attention just another example of shallow writing on occupational health and …
Patient (putting his hand up above his head): “Doctor, Doctor, it hurts whenever I do this. “ Doctor: “Well stop doing that.” This joke scenario implies that some of the advice in medicine is common sense. If something hurts, stop. This simple logic can extend to most professions, including safety. On August 3 2014, the …
Yesterday Australia’s Fairfax Media reported on a “policy” supposedly being applied in the Western Australia resources sector by Chevron Australia that requires workers to stand, rather than sit, for the purposes of increasing productivity. The initiative has been roundly ridiculed by various political and social commentators, including the Minister for Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten. However few have mentioned that … Continue reading “Safety and productivity links at risk from ill-informed ridicule and media beat-up”
Several years ago the board of WorkSafe Victoria decided to fund a $A600 million health assessment program for workers from the workers’ compensation fund. The WorkHealth program has not been without its critics but WorkSafe announced this week that 1 in 4 Victorian workers have participated in the WorkHealth program. Given this significance I undertook a work … Continue reading “Is fat the past tense of fit? WorkHealth assessment”