ABSTRACT
WHAT IS ERGONOMICS? A safety professional once mentioned that it took quite some time before he realized that speakers discussing ergonomic topics were not talking about “economics. ” I thought that this was a very humorous mistake that might have happened years ago, but could never happen today. That was my opinion until this very mistake occurred to me. In my university newsletter, it was announced that I published a book titled, “The Economic Casebook: Real World Solutions. ” Confusion between economics and Ergonomics is an understandable one. These two terms look and sound similar. However, these terms have more in common than their pronunciation. In reality, there is a close relationship between Ergonomics and economics since so much of a business’s financial viability could be based upon ergonomic conditions in the workplace. Problems such as repetitive motion trauma and back injuries could be costing companies far more than most managers would suspect.
