ROCKFORD, Ill. — Greenlee®/ A Textron Company has launched an industry-first ergonomics laboratory, Greenlee® ErgoLab. The Rockford-based laboratory offers state-of-the-art equipment to identify a tool’s ergonomic value through scientific testing, measurement and analysis. This analysis will help utility and electrical tools users, along with purchasing officers and decision makers, determine the best tools to utilize on the jobsite. A mobile version of the ErgoLab was also developed to offer jobsite analysis.
“This new ErgoLab will give Greenlee the ability to analyze and deliver objective data and offer all our business units the ability to quantify a “tool’s worth,” said Raffi Elchemmas, Tool Ergonomist at Greenlee. “By having to ability to compare muscle efforts against ergonomic qualities, it allows tool users and decision makers to see and understand the short and long term health and safety benefits. This insight makes the purchasing decision process that much easier.”
At the ErgoLab, customers from Greenlee®, Sherman + Reilly Inc, and HD Electric Company® will be able to observe their muscle contractions with a variety of tools and in a variety of positions. This will help them to make an informed decision about which tool is most beneficial for their use. The Greenlee ErgoLab mobile unit allows ergonomists to bring the testing equipment to customers’ jobsite, whether it be in their building, leaning out of a bucket or climbing up a pole for onsite analysis.
“The idea came about when our ergonomics analysts saw the need to improve the quality of life for the next generation of utility and electrical workers. Our team began to identify the initial point of injuries and trace many repetitive and long term injuries back to ergonomic issues that can be fixed through redesigning, reengineering and improving work practices”, said Jeff Smith, Director of Engineering at Greenlee.
Using state-of-the-art electromyography analysis equipment and ergonomic evaluation software, Greenlee researchers are able to measure and record the amount of electrical activity produced by the skeletal muscles. In addition to this, they will also be able to collect grip strength and bio feedback information such as heart rate, ECG Waveform, and skin temperature.
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