December 5, 2003—In light of a recent decision by the National Safety Council to relinquish its role as overseer of a 13-year effort to develop an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) ergonomic standard (Z365), the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) President James ‘Skipper’ Kendrick, CSP, said recently:
“ASSE commends the longtime effort of NSC to raise awareness of ergonomics in the United States. This event does not change the fact that workplace musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) result in more worker lost workdays in the U.S. than any other cause of injury. The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) urges employers now to develop and implement effective ergonomic solutions. An initial investment in effective ergonomic solutions removes barriers to quality, productivity and human performance by fitting products, tasks, and environments to people, reduces the incidence of injuries, and, saves millions of dollars.
Perhaps now is the time to reopen the debate on ergonomics and generate new ideas and opportunities not previously presented in an effort to reduce WMSDs. We look forward to continuing to work with the U.S. Department of Labor and its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), business and other key stakeholders in addressing the significant problem of MSDs in the workplace. Key resources aimed at addressing this issue are available; we need to insure that workers and employers are aware of these resources and continue to develop additional guidelines aimed at reducing workplace MSDs.
In December of 2002 ASSE signed an alliance with OSHA aimed at helping to reduce workplace ergonomic injuries through education, sharing of best practices and solutions, and access to practitioners’ expertise. In addition, ASSE strongly supports the efforts of OSHA’s year old National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics (NACE).”
