The Role Of Legislation To Impact Proactive Ergonomics Programs

摘要

Governments around Australia, and internationally, have been introducing legislation to address ergonomics issues in the workplace, specifically manual handling, over the last 15 years. A review of evaluative studies has verified the role and effect of legislation to bring about proactive improvements in workplace injury reduction. The PREMUS conference in Amsterdam, October 2001 provides an opportunity for international researchers to review the outcomes of studies relating to the role of legislation to address MSD risks in industry. These sessions will incorporate their findings into these evaluations. It is evident that proactive programs are initiated by a range of factors such as workers compensation costs; quality assurance programs; corporate initiatives in large companies; capital investments to address productivity and quality problems. A revision of Australia's National Standard for Manual Handling is required to address the body of prevention research conducted since 1990.