Assessing The Status of Ergonomics and The Health Implications in an Organization in Nigeria

This study gives a broad content and information to ergonomics study in the workplace. The information is designed to help ergonomist, health, and safety specialist understand the importance the importance of proper ergonomics designs in organizations. The sole purpose of ergonomics is to fit the task or responsibilities to the worker or laborer, not the employee to the task of the organization. Good ergonomics practices achieve increased efficiency in the organization, and also improve the well-being and safety of employees, higher work satisfaction and better compliance with government regulations. The accepted ergonomics rule that is supposed to be connected to work environment incorporates aiming for dynamic versus static work, optimizing work surface heights, avoiding overload of muscles, avoiding unnatural postures, and training individuals to use the workplace, facility, and equipment properly. The study of Ergonomics is to explain the ways organizations can contribute to efficiencies and effectiveness, how it can be evaluated over time or become embedded as part of an improved system. The study is to examine the awareness of ergonomics among workers in Nigeria.

The reason for this study is to carry out research on the level of awareness of ergonomics, discover if employees encounter ergonomic indications and find out if there is ergonomic training is present and different measures to guarantee solid and profitable workforce. This study summarizes the knowledge regarding ergonomic and musculoskeletal disorder in the organization. It is, however, known that perceived muscular tension is an early stage/sign of musculoskeletal disorder which can be controlled through extensive and proper ergonomics designs.

However, Individuals and management seek ways of improving their importance and productivity on a daily basis. However, proper and effective management of ergonomics will bring about the great product in the organizations and encourage employees to work safely and promote good health in the organization. Ergonomics was gotten from the Greek word, which Ergo means work and Nomos means law. Ergonomics is defined as the study of the design of work of employees in the work environment, gear, machine, instrument, item, condition, and framework must be taken into consideration of the individual's physical, physiological, biomechanical, and mental capacities and advances the sustainability and productivity of labour while ensuring the security, well-being, and prosperity of the specialists (Fernandez and Marley, 1998). By and large, the objective of ergonomics is to fit the assignment to the individual, not the person to the undertaking.

However, Ergonomics can be said the scientific discipline that is concerned with the comprehension of collaborations within a group of individual and different segments of a context, and the calling that applies hypothesis, standards, techniques and information to configuration with a specific end goal to upgrade human prosperity and general framework execution comprehension (International Ergonomics Association (IEA) in 2000). The deficiencies of Ergonomic in any organization may not immediately bring about body pain but as time goes on the body’s ability to adapt will begin to fail as a result of musculoskeletal disorders. Ergonomics is the study that shows how functioning conditions, particularly the plan of gear and furniture, so as to enable individuals, to work all the more effectively, has accepted significance in work environment with expanding rate of musculoskeletal wounds (Currie, Ritmiller 8c Robinson, 1998).

Ergonomics in an organization should not be seen as a problem but rather as giving solutions to problems that may arise in the organization with respect to workers health. Industries in the developed economy have successfully begun to implement ergonomic solutions in their organizations in order to inform the workers' of the hazards or risks. This incorporates changing existing equipment, taking off enhancements in work rehearses and acquiring new instruments or different gadgets to aid the creation procedure. The changes have reduced physical demands, reduce avoidable engagements around the organization, lowered the rates injury, compensation costs, and reduced employee turnover in the organization. In most cases, increases work efficiency and productivity.

Background of the study World Health Organization states that a healthy workplace is that environment where employees and executives team up to make use of a continuous development process to safeguard and promote the well-being and safety of workers in the organization and the sustainability of the work environment. These include, but not limited to; The welfare and safety in the physical workplace; ü The welfare, safety, and success in the psychosocial place of work as well as the course of action of labor and work atmosphere and culture; ü The employee's welfare resources in the work environs; and  The techniques for taking importance in a team so as to improve the strong point of experts, their relations and diverse personalities from the group.

Research and survey has been conducted to ascertain the level of ergonomics awareness in Nigeria organizations comprising of employees from various sectors in the economy. The information and use of ergonomics in organizations are of vital importance. It is, however, concluded that of 100 respondents, 3.4 percent of the respondent is aware of ergonomics signifying that there the awareness of ergonomics is very low. Understanding the terms and benefits of ergonomics appears to be lacking in most organization and results in the discomposure and health threats plaguing the Nigerian workforces. The work, however, sustains and ensure a healthy and productive workforce.

Research objective

The following are the objective for this study:

To examine the level of awareness of ergonomics in organizations in Nigeria today

To examine the effect of ergonomics on individual employees

Ascertain ergonomics education and training on the organization and its employees.

Research question

This research questions are identified for the purpose of serving as a catalyst for designing the questions for the open-ended interview.

The driving questions are:

To what extent as ergonomics practice be accepted and embedded into organizations in Nigeria

In what way can ergonomics affect both the organization and the employees positively or negatively?

What are the challenges faced by the organization when accepting or embracing ergonomics

Research hypothesis

HO: Ergonomics is not important to organizations in Nigeria H1: Ergonomics is of vital importance to organizations in Nigeria HO: Ergonomics has no impact on employees and the organization as a whole H1: Ergonomics has a great impact on employees and on the organization generally HO: The practice of ergonomics has no benefits to organizations in Nigeria H1: The practice of ergonomics has beneficial attributes to organizations in Nigeria The significance of the study Ergonomics study is necessitated by the urge and needs for organizations to develop a safe and healthy work environment.

The following are the significance of the study:

It creates awareness on the needs and importance of ergonomics practices to the organization in Nigeria of which both the organization and the employees benefits from it.

Its maintains a safe and healthy physical working environment The scope of the study The study focuses on the management of the work environment.

To achieve this, we look at the causes, effects, and solutions to ergonomics. The 3rd edition of the international labor organizations Encyclopedia, which was available in 1983, says ergonomics was shortened in one article that was four pages. Meanwhile, there have been extreme changes in laying prominence and accepting the interrelationships in safety and health issues. In the last years, almost every outlet involved in production and rendering of service expended much strength or call it energy in enhancing productivity and quality in their respective organizations. This process called restructuring brought about practical experience and vividly explains that production and the value derived are directly related to the design of good working conditions.

One straightforward economical degree of production is the costs derived from absenteeism which may be as a result of illness caused by bad working conditions. To increase or enhance productivity and quality and also avoid absenteeism is by giving attention to the implementation of good ergonomics practices in the organization. The word “ergonomics” originates from the Greek "nomos" which means run, and "thus" which means work. This recommended ergonomics is to create "rules" for a more progressive, imminent idea of an outline.

As opposed to "corrective ergonomics", the possibility of forthcoming ergonomics depends on the application of ergonomic proposals which at the same time think about benefit edges (Laurig 1992). Corrective ergonomics is said to be understanding of all work implementations and endorsements that needs attention, paid to capacity boundaries in order to prevent health hazards. The approach was deduced from practical experience and reinforced by the results of occupational hygiene and ergonomics research. However, prospective ergonomics is seen as looking out for substitutes in work strategies to prevent weakness and overtiredness on the workers and in order to promote or enhance human productivity for the benefit and profiting of the organization and the employees, which also includes equipment design in the organization.

Therefore, Forthcoming ergonomics cut across various disciplinary approach of scientists and experts from an extensive variety of fields joined by a similar objective, and one a player in a general reason for a cutting-edge comprehension of word-related wellbeing and wellbeing (UNESCO 1992). Ergonomics is the science of making things comfortable and efficient. The more ergonomics is put in place the more efficient the tool, task or system is. This makes employees happy, work in the healthy environment, a streamlined system and a lower bottom line. Injuries gotten from musculoskeletal disorders, such as muscle strains, sprains, and repetitive motion disorders, can be a continuous pain for both the organization and the employees. And although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has no defined standard for ergonomics, an organization can be cited for ergonomics-related issues under the General Duty Clause. The values of any ergonomics program can make a difference or bring about health change for everyone in an organization, and this includes office personnel, drivers, construction workers and manufacturing employees.

Creating a platform for Ergonomics will achieve the following:

Decrease employees compensation and health insurance costs: Ergonomics-related wounds have a tendency to be a long haul, making a consistent deplete on specialists' pay and therapeutic expenses. The rundown of measurements assisting the cost-investment funds that outcome from a lessening of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) wounds is nearly as long as the time it takes for back damage to recuperate.

Improvement of DART rate: An ergonomics program keeps your specialists sound. MSDS represented 32 percent of the wounds and ailment issues in 2014 that needed days from work, and specialists who maintained an MSD required a middle of 13 days to recover before coming back to work. Specialists who could come back to the activity required diminished time or exchange to a post or role that puts less strain on their damage.

Less turnover and increased employee satisfaction: Ergonomics program in the workplace enhances representative's spirit and profitability.

Independent of the work setting, regardless of it's been an office or assembling spot, representatives who are less exhausted and can work without inconvenience are more beneficial, more ready and glad. Notwithstanding, cheerful workers have a tendency to be more faithful to their organizations. A current report by financial experts at the University of Warwick found that bliss prompted a 12 percent spike in efficiency, while despondent specialists demonstrated 10 percent less beneficial.

Help prevents other incidents and injuries: Laborers who encounter distress at work may discover alternate ways or workarounds that could bring about occurrences and wounds, for example, slips, falls and slashes. Executing an ergonomics program and urging laborers to report ergonomic issues early forestalls MSDs and also other regular working environment incident. At the point when a worker gets sick or get harmed, it is imperative to get such individual back to a state where he or she will have the capacity to complete their obligations. Making working situations agreeable for representatives is the key factor in having a beneficial workforce. What at that point is ergonomics? It is about nature inside which one works and how that individual can finish assignments inside it. The significance of ergonomics in the work environment lies in every worker's capacity to work inside a space that is perfect for them to carry out their employment well.

On WebMD.com, it is disclosed that consideration regarding ergonomics is found through setting up one's workstation such that it reduces the danger of cerebral pains, eyestrains, back torment, neck torment and even bursitis or ligament issues that are regularly connected to doing likewise errands again and again. Ergonomics design has great notoriety in research within a wide range of areas including; comprehensive design, transportation and especially vehicle ergonomics, wellbeing and prosperity, development ergonomics, human displaying and individuals' enthusiastic engagement with items. The exploration and its consultancy exercise effect on industry and its end clients, having a beneficial outcome to individuals' lives. This methodology was chosen to suit the approach and to discover the four research questions stated above, ergonomics is seen as socially positioned for both research and other practice (Hignett, 2001).

This method enables the researcher to explore by having:

Free access to material and information through intelligent meetings, with the adaptability to build up the poll both amid a single meeting and all through the study.

A comprehensive viewpoint to think about the decent variety of the points of view consideration by scholastics and experts engaged with ergonomics. Noy (1999) distinguished information and yield factors affecting the improvement of ergonomics in the worldwide, social, monetary and political settings.

The sources of info incorporate the expert commitment by means of the national social orders, however, the most grounded input is the scholarly framework, with the building, brain research and life sciences as yet being the primary feeder disciplines. Nonetheless, Moray (1994) recommended that there should have been a significantly nearer association with other related controls, for instance: mechanical brain science, social brain research, human studies, and humanism.

Hospital ErgonomicsAttempt and recognize the qualities of the medicinal services industry and how these might affect the activity of ergonomics in healing facilities.

To talk about these qualities with regards to the writing and information from the ergonomists contextual analysis. "

To utilize a down to earth issue (manual dealing with dangers in word related treatment) as a contextual analysis to demonstrate the benefit of utilizing a subjective way to deal with distinguish new thoughts and imaginative arrangements in a mind-boggling circumstance Four methodologies in ergonomics where evaluated and this incorporates: macro ergonomics, participatory ergonomics; exploratory successive information examination; and francophone (ergonomics in French talking territories, e. g. France, Belgium, Quebec).

However, Hospitals present complex setting in honing ergonomics. This is mostly because of the hierarchical structure (with various expert and administrative lines) and furthermore profoundly business. Inside ergonomics Sinclair (1995) proposed that three information composes were utilized: observational (counting test techniques), information base (record looking), and subjective strategies. For subjective strategies, he included polls, meetings, and positioning/rating, and basic occurrence systems. He distinguished a consistent theme for these as containing 'any technique that draws its information from the mental substance of individuals' heads. He suggested gathering information with no less than two extraordinary, free techniques to upgrade legitimacy. This is like the idea of triangulation and will be come back to in the area of information investigation.

A contention against subjective techniques incorporates the characteristic human inclinations in any case, this feedback could be leveled at target information and additionally subjective information. In the course of the most recent 50 years the act of ergonomics has changed and with it the models of training. Some of these models will be surveyed, yet I will begin this section by saying that I consider ergonomics to be a socially arranged practice (Hignett, 2001a: 62). Ergonomics divisions are typically situated inside one of the foundation (or feeder) scholarly trains. This has brought about a various calling where some ergonomists may see themselves as to right off the bat have a place with 45 another calling (build/analyst), with ergonomics being performed under the sponsorship of that foundation (or first) calling (Noy, 1999) Organizing training programs will go a long way towards expanding safety awareness among the staffs of any organization. This includes the managers and supervisors, designers, buyers, mechanics, and specialist or workers who carry out the jobs.

A good and decent ergonomics training program will show workers the appropriate use of apparatus, utensils, and machine controls and also show the right approach in carrying out their jobs. Conveyors or carts, lift tables and list assists, can help in reducing load weight, and minimize incorrect liftings and potential injury. The employer should recommend the necessity for the ergonomics program at the organization, the program should begin with planning the program and the goals, and put it into action. Workers who are aware of ergonomic risk factors should be given chances to make suggestions and input which can be very helpful in designing improved workplace and help to reduce MSD hazards.