Ergonomic studies - RULA, Stain Index or OCRA Index methods - ISO 9004:2000 - pp 6.4

[António Vieira]

Hi all!

ISO 9004:2000 refers ergonomics as an improvement discipline in 6.4!
Do you find interesting ergonomic studies to improve work environment?
Does anyone uses RULA, Stain Index or OCRA Index methods to study ergonomics related to requirement 6.4 of ISO 9001:2000 or ISO/TS 16949:2002?


Thanks

António

[Jennifer Kirley]

Originally Posted by António Vieira

Hi all!

ISO 9004:2000 refers ergonomics as an improvement discipline in 6.4!
Do you find interesting ergonomic studies to improve work environment?
Does anyone uses RULA, Stain Index or OCRA Index methods to study ergonomics related to requirement 6.4 of ISO 9001:2000 or ISO/TS 16949:2002?


Thanks

António

I do find it interesting from various aspects, including my own physical concerns with long-term keyboarding. And as I stated in a related thread, I do believe ergonomics affects quality.

I know of a company that aggressively pursues ergonomics improvement under its ISO 9001 6.4 element, having identified repetetive muscular/skeletal injuries as a major readiness and cost concern.

I don't have details to share on how they perform the controls, but I found an information source for RULA here http://www.ergonomics.co.uk/Rula/Ergo/brief.html (there's a contact e-mail address at the bottom of the page).

Do you mean "Strain Index"? Here is a site that talks about it and has further resources: http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=583

I found an in-depth source for the OCRA method here: http://diglib.tums.ac.ir/pub/magmng/pdf/2164.pdf

I hope this helps!

[harry]

You may want to have a look at ISO 6385 - Ergonomic Principles in the design of work systems. Several related ISO standards are also mentioned in ISO 6385.

[António Vieira]

Thanks for the links!
In fact, I started the use of RULA method (the easiest of the 3 methods I’ve stated) to check ergonomic problems in order to improve work environment.
My question was a little bit more to ask if anyone is doing the same.
Am I being very ambitious about the fulfilling of requirement 6.4 of ISO 9001:2000 or ISO/TS 16949:2002 when I’m doing these studies?
Lots of organizations are applying ergonomic studies for several years, but as QMS standards don’t specify such necessity, I would like to know if anybody is doing them just for this requirement.

Tks
António

[Jennifer Kirley]

It's not overly ambitious to focus on ergonomics for clause 6.4. I expect your group is doing a lot of repetive work at computers and desks. So your organization gets to focus on the aspects most pertinent to your work environment; for nursing it would be back strain, other joint or tendon strains and perhaps needle prick injuries.

When people look at safety and health at work, very often the visible things get first notice. Fall, electrical and trip hazards; HAZMAT of course. Other measurable things, like gases and various toxins with measurable exposure rates are also taken seriously.

Ergonomics, meanwhile, looks like voodoo to people who don't view an imminent risk of a hand being chopped off or asphyxiation. But repetetive motion injuries, while largely invisible are very real, problematic, costly and they are on the rise.

The fact that most companies are not yet looking harder at ergonomics doesn't make you strange--it makes you more visionary.