The Ergonomics Program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) assists all Laboratory divisions in identifying, preventing, and controlling ergonomics risk factors. The Ergonomics Program strives to be a value-added program that is integrated into the safety culture at Berkeley Lab.

The goal of the Ergonomics Program is to optimize work practices, software, furniture, tools, and equipment used at Berkeley Lab to increase employee effectiveness and to minimize employee exposure to risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs).

The Ergonomics Program facilitates work performed at Berkeley Lab by taking a systematic view of people, their work tasks, work space, software, and equipment to help create an environment where people can work safely and efficiently.

The Ergonomics Program operates at three levels to achieve these goals:

• 1. Prevention: Work with designers, project managers, vendors, procurement representatives, and end-users to ensure that tools, equipment, work processes, and computer software are user-friendly and do not present unnecessary risks such as repetition, high force, awkward postures, or wasted time and motion. At this level, the emphasis is on minimizing risks before investing in new tools or implementing new processes.

  2. Customer Care: Work with individual employees and supervisors to control/minimize employee discomfort, make physical and work-process changes to mitigate risk factors for musculoskeletal problems, and accommodate people’s sizes and work styles to allow them to work as comfortably and effectively as possible.

  3. Alignment: Reach out to the science and Operations divisions/departments faced with challenging ergonomics issues, e.g., injury-prone tasks, complex material-handling jobs, unique equipment integration, and new laboratories that might affect the health and safety of their employees. Work with these divisions and their Division Safety Coordinators to ensure Ergonomics Program elements are in place to mitigate ergo issues at a local level with an emphasis on making employees more self-reliant.

The Ergonomics Program consists of:

• • A team of ergonomists and support personnel within the Occupational Safety Group of the Environment/Health/Safety (EHS) Division

  • ESE Ergo Advocates and Safety Coordinators in each division who are responsible for the early identification of ergonomic problems, performing preventive ergonomic (ergo) evaluations, and providing ergo recommendations for employees. 

    • • ESE Safety Coordinator: Rosanne Boudreau

      • ESE Ergonomics Advocates

        • Rosanne Boudreau

        • Katherine Schall

1. Understanding Risk Factors: Identifying and reducing ergonomic risk factors is a key to preventing WRMSDs. Ergo risk factors include repetitive, forceful, or prolonged exertion of the hands; frequent or heavy lifting; pushing, pulling, or carrying objects; prolonged awkward postures; cold temperatures; and vibrations contribute to the risk of WRMSDs. The level of risk depends on how long a worker is exposed to these conditions, how often a worker is exposed to them, and the level of exposure.

2. Eliminating/ Reducing Risk Factors: Physical changes to the tools or workplace should be addressed as the first line of defense to eliminate or reduce ergonomic risk factors. It is important to implement solutions that can eliminate the risk factors when feasible.

3. Good Body Posture: Reducing the length of time spent in awkward postures is important for minimizing the risk of developing a WRMSD. Equipment, tools, furniture, and the visual demands of a job have a direct effect on posture.

4. Other Control Measures

   • Broadening Range of Tasks: Have employees perform more parts of a job rather than one specific task repeatedly, as long as this involves the use of different muscle groups.

   • Job Rotation: Cross-train employees to perform other jobs. Rotate employees in jobs that use different muscle groups, if possible.

   • Work Breaks: Have employees take frequent short breaks from static postures or repetitive tasks throughout the day.

5. Early Reporting and Intervention

   • The Berkeley Lab Ergo Team is highly effective in preventing discomfort from progressing into an injury when discomfort is reported early, as soon as an employee is feeling discomfort. It is important for employees to report discomfort to their supervisor, to ask their supervisor for an ergonomics evaluation, and/or to contact the Ergo Team for an ergonomics evaluation. Discomfort does not equal injury. Everyone has discomfort at some point. Early reporting is key to preventing discomfort from turning into an injury.

   • When employees report DISCOMFORT, supervisors are encouraged to:

     • Thank the employee for reporting his/her discomfort

     • Immediately notify their Division Safety Coordinator

     • Submit a request for an ergonomist to perform an ergo evaluation through the Ergo Database

     • Discuss initial findings and observations with the ergonomist

     • Review the ergo evaluation summary, and implement actions assigned to you

     • Check in with the employee often to make sure the recommendations are working and that the employee’s discomfort is subsiding

     • Discuss with the employee the need to seek medical treatment from Health Services if discomfort is not subsiding within several weeks after recommendations are implemented

Requesting an Ergo Evaluation: Please email Rosanne Boudreau. 

1. The Ergo Team offers support services for Berkeley Lab employees who use computers off site for telecommuting and working at a remote location.

2. Employees working off site should contact the Ergo Team to:

   • Discuss any ergonomic concerns. The employee, super]visor, or Division Safety Coordinator should initiate this discussion by sending an e-mail to ergo@lbl.gov with attached photographs of the work area, followed by telephone call(s) as needed.

   • Obtain assistance with implementing any recommendations deemed necessary to control risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs).

3. The Telecommuting Agreement and Authorization Form may be downloaded from the HR Documents Web page.