Performing effective ergonomic evaluations.

My interest and attention to ergonomics began as the consequence of managing workplace injuries within the Risk Management division of a large high-tech company 10 years ago. Ergonomics was still relatively new and unproven to our immediate industry, and I was extremely skeptical of how injuries could be reduced by placing monitors on phone books or putting a piece of foam rubber in front of a keyboard. Still, our upper extremity injuries were an increasing component of our worker's compensation costs, and as the EH&S manager, I embarked on an aggressive plan to counter their impact.