While fatigue affects workers across all industries and work environments, it is especially prevalent in settings that require intense physical exertion such as shipping facilities and manufacturing. Employees in these settings face challenges unique to their environment, with factors that can increase the risk of fatigue including long periods spent standing at a workstation. The effects of prolonged standing, combined with less than ideal posture, can contribute to a range of health problems, of which fatigue is among the most pressing for enterprises who spend millions covering the costs associated with lost productivity and the accident risks that come from fatigue in the workplace.
In part three of the DORN Companies fatigue blog series, Dr. Lora Cavuoto brings her expertise in Industrial and Systems Engineering as an associate professor at the University at Buffalo to explore new intervention strategies for workers who experience fatigue in heavy industrial settings.
With a decade of research experience, Dr. Cavuoto has studied the various risk factors inherent to manufacturing environments, developing innovative solutions that can be implemented with ease across these work settings. While many industrial workers face long hours of standing in place, simple interventions such as mandated rest periods and workstation attachments that support workers’ arms and lower back can be used to reduce the physical demands. She emphasizes the importance of understanding your workforce and using data to evaluate the specific health factors and risks faced by specific employees, and highlights the importance of evaluating the work environment for inherent risks that can cause fatigue.
Check back next month for part 4 of the DORN fatigue video blog series, featuring research into fatigue case studies with NASA expert Cassie Hilditch.
Missed Part 1 of our Fatigue Series ? Click here.
Missed Part 2 of our Fatigue Series ? Click here.
