As a leading manufacturer of ergonomic tools for the industrial workspace, there dozens of sustainable initiatives few companies take seriously. Never complacent, because lean manufacturing’s rule #1 is continuous process improvement, the pioneer to North American fork truck free initiatives holds more ergonomic patents than nearly any other company in the manufacturing space.
Ignacio Isusi, an executive industrial coach, recently reported that the best manufacturers educate employees with content, knowledge, and inspiration to take action impacting safety, health, and well-being both inside and out of the workplace. The Topper Industrial Wisconsin manufacturing facility demonstrates its commitment to sustainable design and manufacturing. From its production facilities to its products to its people, few companies are as respected in the manufacturing industrial ergonomic space as it was evident at ProMat in Chicago last month.
The relationship between ergonomics and design is a key element in a sustainability project. Ergonomics is a strategic factor for design culture innovation, providing designers with the necessary knowledge and skills regarding human characteristics and capabilities, as well as user needs and desires during use and interaction with products in work activities and everyday life.
Ergonomics is also a strategic innovative factor in design development and manufacturing processes. In fact, ergonomics provides a methodological approach in user-product interaction evaluation processes using participatory design and survey methods, user trials, direct observation, savings, and resource conservation.
Design offers solutions to interpret user needs and expectations, at the same time, suggesting new behaviors and lifestyles. In design for sustainability, the ergonomic and user-centered approach contributes greatly to lifestyles and innovative use of products – making it possible to understand and interpret real people needs and expectations in their everyday actions and behavior.
New consumption patterns, new awareness of lifestyles, energy source consumption, purchasing methods, and consumption style can be supported by design innovation, responding to expressed and unexpressed user needs. With this in mind, the ergonomic approach represents the starting point for design choices and at the same time, a tool for assessing their appropriateness and effectiveness.
ANSI about to turn 100
As the voice of the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) empowers its members and constituents to strengthen the U.S. marketplace position in the global economy while helping to assure the safety and health of consumers and the protection of the environment.
The Institute oversees the creation, promulgation, and use of thousands of norms and guidelines that directly impact businesses in nearly every sector: from acoustical devices to construction equipment, from dairy and livestock production to energy distribution, and many more. ANSI is also actively engaged in accreditation – assessing the competence of organizations determining conformance to standards.
ANSI’s mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity.
Whether through ANSI, Lean Six Sigma initiatives, or on-site ergonomists (or all of these), the interaction of sustainable ergonomics will grow ever strong over the next decade.
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