/ ERGONOMICS AND RISK FACTOR AWARENESS TRAINING
FOR INSTRUCTORS /

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Purpose of This Training

This training will provide a trainer with sufficient information that will allow him/her to conduct a similar, but shorter version of the training for others.

Who Should Take This Training

Anyone who has not had any training in ergonomics should take this training. It would also be helpful for individuals who have had training, but their training either did not apply specifically to mining or did not emphasize the reporting of risk factor exposures.

Outline of Training Topics

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Part 1 – Ergonomics

•  What is ergonomics?

•  It’s job design

•  Job design example

•  It’s how you do a job

×  Lifting

×  Using handtools

×  Using joysticks

×  Sitting postures

×  Standing postures

•  Benefits of ergonomics

•  Ergonomics summary

•  Ergonomics review

Part 2 – Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)

•  What are MSDs?

•  Acute versus cumulative

•  MSD example

•  Trigger finger

•  Carpal tunnel syndrome

•  Tennis elbow

•  Symptoms of MSDs

•  Signs of MSDs

•  Injury progression

•  MSDs summary

•  MSDs review

Part 3 – Risk Factors

•  What is a risk factor?

•  Risk factor effects

•  Ergonomic risk factors

×  Forceful exertions

×  Heavy or frequent lifting

×  Forceful gripping

×  Pushing or pulling

×  Awkward or static postures

×  Reaching

×  Twisting the head

×  Stooping

×  Kneeling or squatting

×  Static postures

×  Repetitive motions

×  Using equipment controls

×  Using handtools

×  Computer use

×  Vibration

×  Hand-arm vibration

×  Whole-body vibration

×  Jolting and jarring

•  More ergonomic risk factors

•  Root causes

•  Root causes and ergonomics

•  Risk factors and root causes

•  Risk factors answers

•  Root causes answers

•  Risk factor summary

•  Risk factors review

Part 4 – Prevention

•  How to prevent MSDs

×  Reporting risk factors

•  Don’t focus on injuries!

•  Target risk factors

•  Controlling risk factors

×  Engineering controls

×  Administrative controls

×  Personal protective equipment

•  Prevention summary

•  Prevention review

Part 5 – Exercises

•  Exercise instructions

•  Risk factor review

•  Exercises

More Information

•  Useful links

•  Contact the authors

Glossary


How to Take This Training

Screen Resolution

The best screen resolution to view the site is 1,024×768 or better.

The minimum screen resolution to effectively view the site is 800×600. At this resolution, you can improve readability by running your browser in Full Screen Mode (use the View/Full Screen menu option on your Web browser, or press F11.)

Text Size

If you use a screen resolution greater than 1,024×768, you may want to increase the text size to improve viewing. The list below describes the menu options used to change text size in several Web browsers.

Internet Explorer 6+ / View > Text Size
Firefox 1+ (Mozilla) / View > Text Size > Increase Ctrl++ / Decrease Ctrl+-
Netscape 7+ / View > Text Zoom
Site Navigation

Every page on this site has a Contents menu like the one that appears under the title of this page. Click the Contents button, or press the F12 key, for a drop-down menu that provides access to every major page of the site. When you access the Contents menu by pressing the F12 key, you can move around the menu options with the arrow keys, select a menu option by pressing Enter, orexit the menu by pressing the F12 key again. To the right of the Contents menu are the ordered Navigation Links, which provide access to the Previous and Next pages of the training. In some cases, the Navigation Link will take you up a level to a previous page.

Example of the dropdown Contents menu and ordered Navigation Links.

Direct Page Access Using Keyboard Shortcuts

The Up, Next, and Previous pages in the Navigation Links can be accessed directly from the keyboard. Under Windows, press ALT + Access Key. On Macs, press Control + Access Key. (NOTE: In Internet Explorer, you must press Enter after the access key combination):

Page / Access Key
Up / u
Next / n
Previous / p

In addition, the following pages can be accessed directly from the keyboard:

Page / Access Key
Exercise Index / 1
Using This Training (this page) / 2
PDF Files

This site uses Adobe Acrobat® PDF files. You can download the free Adobe Reader from Adobe Systems at http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.

The entire training exercise is available as a PDF document formatted for printing. The link to the PDF file is in the upper right-hand corner of each page.

Verified Browser Compatibility

•  Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or greater

•  Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or greater

•  Netscape 8 or greater

Playing Movies

The Macromedia Flash Player is used for the videos and some of the illustrations. If you need the player and are connected to the Internet, you can download it by using this link: http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer/.

The illustration below shows the video controls:

•  Play/Pause – Start and stop the video.

•  Back/Forward – Advance the video backwards or forwards a frame at a time.

•  Volume – Displays the Volume Slider.

•  Volume Slider – Drag the button to set the volume for videos with sound.

•  Position Slider – Drag the button to move forward or back through the video.

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