Could ergonomics be the next frontier in improving health, safety and productivity.. ?

Could ergonomics be the next frontier in improving health, safety and productivity In the construction industry?

Ergonomics, also known as human factors, is a scientific discipline that helps us to understand complex work systems and to design safer and more productive workplaces. With its dual objective of improving productivity and worker health and safety, ergonomics has been successfully implemented in various sectors globally. However, despite being legislated, ergonomics is still not widely understood or implemented in South Africa, including in the construction industry.

Common reasons for construction organisations implementing ergonomics

When one explores the causes of why ergonomics is applied or when it is typically implemented in the South African construction industry, it has been observed that many organisations apply ergonomics as a response to internal and external pressures. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• External audit findings that direct the organisation to conduct risk assessments to identify ergonomic risks
• Legal compliance deficiencies identified by a safety authority (e.g. ergonomics risk assessments not done)
• Incidents and accident investigations that reveal ergonomics-related contributory factors that the organisation was not managing effectively
• Worker injuries (acute and chronic) that can be traced back to occupational exposures such as over-exertion injuries
• Applying for new construction projects where the bid requirements direct organisations to provide evidence of compliance with relevant ergonomics legislation to qualify for the project

Pitfalls of compliance-driven management of ergonomic risks

The management of ergonomics risks in many South African construction organisations is still largely reactive and compliance-driven. A compliance-driven approach to managing ergonomics is not without consequences for various reasons. Reactively introducing ergonomics to manage unwanted system outcomes or to manage non-compliance matters in the organisation is indicative of elementary risk management maturity levels. It also suggests that the organisation may be ill-equipped to effectively, and proactively identify and manage ergonomic risks. Moreover, when the goal is to demonstrate compliance with a specific requirement or linked to a negative event, there is a risk that the focus of the organisation’s response is likely to be on that isolated matter as opposed to taking a system or a programme approach to solving that ergonomics deficiency.

Another negative effect linked to compliance-driven implementation of ergonomics that has been observed in the construction industry is that organisations often focus on complying with selected prescribed minimum safety requirements. This results in a myopic focus on the matters that are raised by relevant authorities, instead of considering wider systemic implications. While regulatory gaze may increase the urgency with which ergonomics-related deficiencies are tackled by construction organisations, in instances where the regulatory authority does not have high visibility or focuses on selected compliance requirements, these may influence the ergonomics risk management strategy of the organisation. What is observed in the construction industry is that compliance-driven management of ergonomics risks is driven by safety oversight activities and is often aligned to the outcomes of safety oversight activities (e.g. incident investigations, audits, and inspections) implemented by the relevant authorities. Despite these pitfalls, it is important to acknowledge that compliance-driven management of ergonomic risks is still far better than not managing these risks at all.

Ergonomics as a preventative tool

There is much evidence and research documenting improvements in worker health, safety, productivity and quality in organisations that have implemented  ergonomics. More awareness and training are required to ensure that this positive association between implementing ergonomics and an organisation’s improved ability to meet its business objectives becomes commonly known, particularly in the construction industry which remains one of the industries that are plagued by tight profit margins on the one hand and a high number of injuries, accidents and fatalities on the other.

Knowing or being aware of the benefits of ergonomics is one part of the solution to ensure the widespread implementation of ergonomics in the construction sector. In addition to raising awareness about the benefits of ergonomics, construction organisations also require support and information about how they can implement ergonomics in practice to achieve these desired outcomes. The list below provides practical considerations for integrating ergonomics into existing organisational systems, with the view of bolstering an organisation’s preventative ergonomics risk management.

• To reap the most benefit from the management of ergonomics risks within occupational settings, organisations should adopt a programme approach. In practical terms, this means that organisation-wide implementation of ergonomics through an ergonomics programme is recommended. It is advisable that the ergonomics programme be integrated as part of the organisation’s existing systems (e.g. safety management system, quality management system, etc.).
• Introducing ergonomics principles during the concept and design stages has been found to also be the most cost-effective way of proactively managing ergonomics risk exposure. Consequently, many construction organisations have reported that the cost of implementing ergonomics retrospectively is an expensive exercise. In reality, the financial cost of not managing ergonomic risks is likely already high in these organisations, and the cost of continuing to not manage ergonomics will likely lead to an escalation in the cost of fixing the problems caused by not managing ergonomics.
• To enable construction organisations to more proactively manage ergonomics risks within their operations, it is also necessary to ensure that a just culture is cultivated. In practice, a just culture supports open discussions about the risks that are prevalent in construction organisations. Moreover, in construction organisations where a just culture is adopted, workers who report unsafe conditions or are involved in adverse events do not get penalised or suffer negative consequences. Instead, workers are central to assisting the organisation to learn from both the positive and negative aspects of the system.
• Change in all organisations is driven by people. To effectively develop and implement an ergonomics programme that aims to proactively manage ergonomics-related risks across the system, construction organisations need to ensure that they have capacitated their workers sufficiently to enable them to support the organisation in integrating ergonomics across all life cycle stages and in all organisational processes. This will require ergonomics education and awareness, as appropriate for their role.

Conclusion

The well-known adage “prevention is better than cure” is relevant even in managing ergonomic risks, as the most effective way of managing ergonomic risk exposure is by eliminating the ergonomic risks through designing them out of the system, where feasible. Construction organisations have various opportunities to eliminate and effectively mitigate ergonomics risks by integrating ergonomics at different life cycle phases of construction projects (i.e. from concept and design to decommissioning stages). While the cost of implementing ergonomics is often touted as the reason for not managing ergonomics-related risks, the reality is that ergonomics remains an effective tool that construction organisations can use to bolster safety and productivity outcomes.

Nokubonga (Sma) Ngcamu-Tukulula: Certified Professional Ergonomist at Smart Ergonomics