The Ergonomics Process in a Large Industry: A Case Study

Abstract

This study reviewed the ergonomics process at a large automotive manufacturing company. Since program inception in 1989, the Company and the UAW have been industry leaders in developing a participatory ergonomics program at the plant level. Every large US facility has a locally controlled and operated cross-functional ergonomics team. in the years following implementation (1997–2001), extensive program development and team training have been well established. During program maturation, the organization as a whole has seen significant reductions in lost time case rate for cases of ergonomic interest (14.6%/year) and has had a strong decreasing trend for severity rate for cases of ergonomic interest (39.5 days/year). The local level teams are evaluated on their adherence to the ergonomic program with the use of process metrics including internal audits, OSHA compliance, and intervention activity level. The jointly designed process was developed with the intent of reducing injury rates (outcome metrics). This paper will evaluate the correlation between the ergonomics program outcome metrics and the process metrics.