ABSTRACT
Large industrial rms are struggling to incorporate occupational ergonomics into their operating practices. Pressure from outside (pending legislation from the federal government) and inside (aging workforce, increasing costs of medical care, pressure to become more e€cient through productivity gains) are forcing manufacturing companies to use ergonomics information. To accomplish this task, manufacturing must develop a model to begin incorporating ergonomics into general operating procedures. Kvalseth’s [1] research indicated that several factors were important in implementing an ergonomics program. ey include: management’s perception for the need of ergonomics, management knowledge of the benets or ergonomics, and the degree of cooperation between the workers and management. ese factors show how important it is to “walk” a plant before attempting to implement the program. is chapter helps develop a plan that can be used for a general ergonomics process. It has two components-reactive and proactive processes.
