Page 59 - Occupational Health & Safety, September 2019

job at hand, not on the fit of the gear.
This, of course, is a lengthy and involved methodology that re-
quires a significant investment. Yet, human factors and participa- tory ergonomics (involving the worker in the design and analysis stages), “leads to work being made easier and more efficient, and systems being made simpler and safer.”5
When it comes to improving worker compliance with respect to fall protection safety harnesses, one thing is clear: employers must offer a comfortable harness that workers will actually wear.
Mark Hall, an industrial designer with MSA - The Safety Com- pany, encouraged the rethinking of safety harnesses through the lens of human factors. The result was a more profound understand- ing of what it would take to create a comfortable full-body safety harness that workers would be likely to wear consistently, including:
Anthropometric data. Physical characteristics, such as height, weight, and waist circumference.
Human anatomy and ergonomics. Lumbar support, weight distribution, shoulder stabilization, and musculoskel- etal benchmarks.
Range of motion study. Rotation, extension, lateral bending, and flexion.
Heatmapping. Thermal comfort, body heat radiation, and evaporative cooling.
Take the Next Steps
To better understand why comfort matters—and how to get it—
choose a full-body harness that is contoured so workers can focus on their job—not the harness.
There’s only one reason safety harnesses exist: to save lives. Oth- er reasons exist to help workers want to wear them.
Anne Osbourn is the Marketing Manager for the Construction Seg- ment in North America at MSA. With over 8 years of marketing and product development experience, Anne joined MSA in 2015 and has worked as a product line manager in both Respiratory, and Fall Protection roles for the industrial market.
REFERENCES
1. https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/17702-oshas-top- 10-most-cited-violations-for-fiscal-year-2017.
2. https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2016/04/01/Workers-Not- Always-Using- Their-Fall-Protection-Equipment.aspx.
3. https://business.libertymutualgroup.com/business-insurance/Docu- ments/Ser vices/Workplace%20Safety%20Index.pdf.
4. https://www.ergonomics.org.uk/Public/Resources/Sector%20In- formation/Manufacturing/Public/Resources/Sectors/Manufacturing. aspx?hkey=bbc0f358-840a-4538-bd59-8d0948e76231.
5. https://www.ergonomics.org.uk/Public/Resources/Publications/ Human_Connection/Public/Resources/Publications/Case_Studies. aspx?hkey=6cef60ed-99a9-498e-b2b7-edd072ff31dc.
Powering
Your Workforce
Your employees drive safety, quality,
and productivity. Alchemy’s training and compliance solutions empower them with the knowledge and confidence to make the right decisions every day.
Stop by booth 5434 at the NSC Expo!
AlchemySystems.com/Safety-Solutions (866) 463-5117
Circle 48 on card. See us at NSC, Booth 5434
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