Ergonomics Panel Member Suggests A Web Site

By Michael Ha

NU Online News Service, Dec. 9, 1:53 p.m. EST?A brokerage executive appointed to a newly created federal ergonomics advisory panel said he would like the government to create a special ergonomics Web site for employers.

Richard Wyatt, associate director of Huntsville, Ala.-based Aon Ergonomic Services, part of Aon Corp., made his comments in an interview after U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao announced his appointment last week.

He is one of two insurance industry representatives selected for the National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics.

Also on the committee is George LaPorte, ergonomics manager for NATLSCO, the loss control division of Kemper Insurance Companies in Long Grove, Ill.

Other panel members include professors of medicine and industrial engineering, an attorney, consultants in occupational health, management directors, a construction firm CEO, and a registered nurse with faculty appointments in colleges of nursing and public health.

Created earlier this year, the committee is chartered for two years and is expected to meet two to four times annually starting next year. Its role is to advise the assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health on issues related to reducing ergonomic-related injuries in the workplace.

Mr. Wyatt said the diverse makeup of the committee "will bring a broad array of opinions on how Occupational Safety & Health Administration should embark on ergonomic initiatives."

He said the group's first meeting in January should "determine what the committee will be looking at and set up its boundaries.

"One of the initiatives will be the outreach program--figuring out how best to reach out to companies that need help on ergonomics. Outreach is a big thing in my book," Mr. Wyatt said.

One strategy, he noted, is to communicate with different industry associations, educating them on how to get ergonomics started for their members.

"We want to make it really easy for companies to adopt [advice]. Better ergonomics will certainly allow us to help our clients save money--it's been proven over and over again that ergonomics can lower the number of workplace injuries," Mr. Wyatt said.

And there is always room for improvement and better ways of doing things with ergonomics, he added.

"One of the things I want to propose is to set up an Internet-based best practice guideline for the general industry, small businesses and other industry groups, so that busines owners can easily learn about some of the solutions and ergonomic-improvement ideas that be can applied to their businesses for risk reduction. It could be a whole different Web site, separate from OSHA's," Mr. Wyatt said.

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Ergonomics Panel Member Suggests A Web Site

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