AIHA Hosts Ergonomics And Aging Work Force TeleWeb
Seminar addresses the ergonomic hazards and the pressures of dealing with an aging work force
Fairfax, VA — The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) will host "Ergonomics—the Workplace and Aging: Strategies for Minimizing Incidents and Accidents," an introductory-to-intermediate TeleWeb Virtual Seminar, on February 13, 2007, from 2–4:30 p.m. EST. Industrial hygienists and other occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS) professionals are tasked with keeping workers safe and healthy amid a variety of challenges, including ergonomic hazards and the pressures of dealing with a work force that is aging, all of which must be accomplished in the midst of complicated and changing regulations, guidelines, and consensus standards.
During this TeleWeb, presenters Jerome J. Congleton, PhD, PE, CPE, and Pamela Ferrante, CSP, CHMM, will discuss how to implement office-wide ergonomic programs along with control strategies to minimize the hazards to the aging work force.
The first part of the TeleWeb is designed to grow participants' knowledge of basic anthropometry, common challenges, government regulations and guidelines, definitions, and concepts and provide participants with the ability to develop and implement solution ergonomics programs within their own organizations. Attendees will explore ergonomic lighting, temperature, and noise considerations and learn to address specific issues (neck tension, upper back and shoulder tightness, hand, wrist, and lower arm discomfort, lower leg and foot discomfort, as well as general fatigue) through expert advice, recommendations, and proven strategies developed to minimize commonly occurring workplace accidents and incidents.
The second half of the TeleWeb will focus on the impact of an aging work force and will identify the various safety hazards arising from this demographic phenomenon. Participants will be given statistical information that provides a solid foundation of the current demographic trend of an aging work force as well as the expectations that the proportion of aging workers will continue to grow in the next 10 to 20 years. Attendees will acquire the skills needed to understand the areas where aging workers are at greater risk for injury, learn how to identify the hazards in their workplaces, and understand how the implementation of targeted control strategies can reduce incidents among the entire work force.
Jerome J. Congleton, PhD, PE, CPE, is a professor in the School of Rural Public Health at Texas A&M University, co-director of the Ergonomics Center at Texas A&M University, and the strength and conditioning performance coach for the athletic department at Texas A&M.
His educational background includes a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Evansville in Indiana, a master's degree in management from the University of Arkansas, and a doctorate of philosophy in industrial engineering from Texas Tech University with research emphasis in ergonomics/human factors.
Congleton has 8 patents and 35 refereed journal publications. He is past co-director of the ergonomics and work measurement division of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and is a past member of the board of directors of the International Industrial Ergonomics and Safety Foundation.
Pamela Ferrante, CSP, CHMM, is the owner of J&C Safety Consultants, a health and safety, industrial hygiene, and environmental management consulting firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ferrante is a certified safety professional and a certified hazardous materials manager. Her company provides a variety of services to manufacturers, environmental remediation firms, and construction companies.
She has been studying and lecturing on the impact of aging on workplace safety and health for several years and has been helping companies to assess and proactively develop plans for minimizing the impact of this subgroup on the safety and health program.
Ferrante regularly presents at national conferences including the 2006 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition (AIHce) in Chicago, the American Society of Safety Engineers Professional Development Conferences in New Orleans (2005) and Seattle (2006), and the National Safety Council Congress and Exposition in San Diego (2006). Her articles have recently appeared in The Synergist, Professional Safety, and Compliance Magazine.
Attendees will be provided with tools to enable them to:
- Develop a working definition of ergonomics
- Identify the health benefits of proper ergonomics
- Cite key functional areas where the challenges are apparent
- Categorize common causes of pain and advise workers on established remedies
- Serve the aging of the American work force by understanding statistical measures
- Broaden strategies for modifying workplaces to accommodate aging workers and reduce the risk of accidents and incidents
- Apply unique workplace solutions to functional areas
TeleWeb Virtual Seminars deliver cutting-edge educational content live via the Internet and telephone from the convenience of an attendee's home or office; multiple attendees can participate for the cost of a single registration. Since TeleWebs debuted in 2000, nearly 12,000 individuals have used this convenient and cost-effective format to further their education and careers.
Participants need Internet access and a telephone, or just a phone, to be part of these live educational events. Additionally, an archive copy of the TeleWeb will be available on CD for purchase.
To register for "Ergonomics—the Workplace and Aging: Strategies for Minimizing Incidents and Accidents," call toll free at (800) 651-7916, or register online at http://www.aiha.org/Content/CE/DL/teleweb21307.htm. AIHA members who register by February 2, 2007, can attend the TeleWeb for $295, nonmembers for $325. After February 2, tuition will be an additional $75 for both members and nonmembers. Every site registered will receive materials prepared by the course presenter, which may be duplicated for each participant.
Contact Stacey Talbot, AIHA's program manager for distance learning, at (703) 846-0749 or stalbot@aiha.org with questions regarding TeleWeb Virtual Seminars or AIHA's Distance Learning Program. For more information, including system requirements, visit http://www.aiha.org/TeleWeb.htm.
SOURCE: American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)