With the new year upon us, employers in every industry are preparing for new programs, revised budgets, and shifting regulations that will shape how safety leaders manage their safety plans. Every year brings a fresh set of challenges for workplace safety teams, but 2025 promises to be especially transformative as economic uncertainty combines with a new administration in the U.S. government and ongoing updates to OSHA protocols. All of these factors will affect employers and their safety teams going forward, especially when it comes to their ability to implement recommendations stemming from ergonomic assessments and other risk evaluations.
The ergonomic assessment is a virtually ubiquitous part of workplace safety across all industries, a critical tool for identifying hazards, mitigating injury risk, and managing costs. But as workplaces have grown more complex, so too have the variables and moving parts associated with risk assessment, and creating a holistic safety plan is a tall task for even the most well-resourced teams.
While ergonomic assessments are key in any workplace, their effectiveness is limited by an organization’s ability to implement their findings. Typical risk factors identified through an ergonomic assessment can include environmental hazards, outdated or improperly functioning equipment, employee mental health concerns, and improperly fitted tools and protective gear—the latter of which will be a major focus for OSHA going forward into 2025 and beyond. Meanwhile, the tools that ergonomists utilize to conduct assessments have grown more sophisticated, leading to a wealth of data that can be tremendously helpful when used to implement solutions, but also potentially overwhelming for teams that lack the resources to sift through the information and identify critical issues.
Too often, safety teams find themselves drinking from the firehose. For many organizations, partnering with reliable experts can be the key to unlocking solutions that are both realistic and cost-effective.
Ergonomics at Work: Implementation Rates
Because information around the implementation of ergonomic recommendations largely relies on employer self-reporting, it can be difficult to nail down exactly what portion of those recommendations are put into action following an assessment. However, available data does paint a picture of significant challenges in implementing solutions. One study encompassing employers in railways, airlines, steel manufacturing, and higher education suggested that only 26 to 34 percent of recommendations were implemented, based on impressions from the affected employees. Another study conducted at healthcare facilities reported that implementation rates landed between 47 and 83 percent.

Regardless of the exact figures, it’s clear that a gap exists between what ergonomists recommend and what employers can implement. So what’s driving that gap, and how can employers get the most out of the expertise they rely on for ergonomic recommendations?
Without a doubt, cost is a substantial factor. Safety budgets vary by industry and organization, and not all safety teams have the financial resources to implement every solution recommended following a risk evaluation. Staffing limitations also put constraints on implementing and expanding safety programming—a team can only do so much with just a few staff members. Likewise, the data provided by ergonomists has grown significantly more sophisticated, and many organizations lack the expertise, time, and people to sift through the raw information to identify the most impactful solutions and put them into action. Finally, the existence of a strong safety culture is a major predetermining factor in how effectively an ergonomic assessment can be translated into actionable interventions. Organizations in which safety, transparency, and accountability are emphasized from leadership to front-line employees are more likely to allocate the resources necessary to build on ergonomic recommendations.
Looking Forward: Preparing for Ergonomic Assessments
As we head into a new year, preparation will become more important than ever for safety teams and their leaders. Organizations can ready themselves to act on recommendations and new safety rules by following a few key guidelines.
- Establish realistic expectations. Safety teams should lay out their available resources and define what can be allocated toward implementing recommendations. This should be a part of the annual budgeting process, but managers should also revisit the issue in advance of any assessment.
- Define known issues. Safety leaders who are attuned to their workplaces will have knowledge of existing challenges and pain points. Providing information on departments or roles with higher rates of injuries, chronic pain, absenteeism, or mental health issues to assessors will make their jobs easier and help focus their efforts on the areas that need the most work.
- Lay out specific goals. Before an ergonomist conducts an evaluation, safety leaders should review their worksites and set goals for the issues they want to address. These could include reducing rates of specific injury types, improving equipment fit for certain roles, or fixing environmental hazards that are known to pose injury risks. One study conducted by the National Safety Council in 2023 indicated that roughly 48 percent of organizations have not established specific safety goals, and without that kind of preparation, safety teams can be left feeling unsure where to go with the information they receive from an ergonomist.
- Familiarize safety staff and leadership with new rules. Every year brings changes to the regulatory and legal landscape around safety, and employers should be aware of how the recommendations they receive through an ergonomic assessment will align with those rules.
New Year, New Rules: 2025 OSHA Updates
Safety teams and external ergonomists and providers alike should head into the new year with an awareness of how regulations will impact their work and their goals for the coming months. Here’s what OSHA has in the pipeline for 2025.
- New rule on protective gear for construction workers: In December of 2024, OSHA finalized a change to their rule regarding protective equipment in the construction industry. The rule explicitly states that equipment must be checked to properly fit individual workers using it, with the goal of improving protection for construction workers against worksite hazards. According to OSHA representatives, the rule is especially important for women, who are often not provided with equipment fitted for their sizes.
- The proposed rule on heat-related illness: While this rule has not yet been finalized, employers will likely be required to improve their protections against heat-related health and safety issues by providing water, regular rest breaks, and access to areas that are air-conditioned or shaded when temperatures reach certain levels. This rule will affect both indoor and outdoor worksites.
- Ergonomic safety measures: While general ergonomic rules have not significantly changed, OSHA has adopted settlements with large employers like Amazon that require improvements to ergonomic standards, especially in warehouses and shipping systems. The settlements went into effect in December 2024 and will require improvements to adjustable workstations, floor mats, harnesses, and scheduling practices that will rotate employees through job functions to avoid excessive repetitive motion.
Conclusion: Prepare for 2025 With a Trusted Partner
The new year will certainly bring challenges for employers in every sector, whether that means implementing recommendations from ergonomic assessments or adapting to new governmental safety regulations. Ultimately, the best way to help your safety teams prepare is to equip them with the knowledge and expertise they need, which can be provided by a trusted safety partner capable of handling risk assessments and cost-effectively delivering solutions. With the right support, your organization can be confident about a productive new year and an improved safety outlook at every level.
Contact the DORN Team today for your FREE ergonomic assessment consultation and discover how we can help improve workplace safety, prevent injuries, and boost productivity. Don’t wait—your team’s well-being starts here!