ErgoEASER©

Ergonomics Education,
Awareness, System Evaluation,
& Recording Tool
User’s Guide, DOE Download Version

June 1999

Prepared for
the U.S. Department of Energy
under Contract DE-AC06-76RLO 1830

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Richland, Washington 99352
 DISCLAIMER

This material was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States
Government. Neither the United States Government nor the United States Department of
Energy, nor Battelle, nor any of their employees, MAKES ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, OR ASSUMES ANY LEGAL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE
ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF ANY INFORMATION,
APPARATUS, PRODUCT, SOFTWARE, OR PROCESS DISCLOSED, OR REPRESENTS
THAT ITS USE WOULD NOT INFRINGE PRIVATELY OWNED RIGHTS.

© Copyright 1995 by Battelle Memorial Institute

Acknowledgments

ErgoEASER was developed for the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environment,
Safety, and Health by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory under contract DE-AC06-
76RLO 1830, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense, Environmental
Security.

The Government retains a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to

reproduce, prepare derivative works, perform publicly, and display publicly by or for the
Government, including the right to distribute to other Government contractors.

iii
iv
Contents

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Loading the Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
How to Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1&Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Working with the Getting Started Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Screen Layout and Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
How to Use the Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
How to Use the References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2&Awareness and Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Working with the Awareness/Reporting Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Screen Layout and Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Understanding the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Responsibility and Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Reviewing the Information in the Preventing
WMSDs Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Recommended Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Generating a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Risk Factor Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

3&Lifting Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Working with the Lifting Analysis Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Screen Layout and Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Overview of Analysis Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Lifting Analysis Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Starting an Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Entering Task Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Eliminating Potential Strains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

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 ErgoEASER User’s Guide

Saving an Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Analyzing Multiple Lifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Generating Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Additional Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Operator Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Lifting Index Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Task Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Changing Units of Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Lifting Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

4&VDT Workstation Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Working with the VDT Workstation Analysis Component . . . . . . . 43
Screen Layout and Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Overview of Anaysis Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
VDT Workstation Analysis Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . 44
Starting the Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Entering Task Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Eliminating Potential Strains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Generating Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Additional Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Operator Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Task Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Changing Units of Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

5&Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Working with Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Overview Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Context-Sensitive Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Quick Reference Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

vi
 Contents

Figures

Introduction
Examples of Buttons used in ErgoEASER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Examples of Fields used in ErgoEASER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Chapter 1
Introductory Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Getting Started Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Glossary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
References Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter 2
Introductory Awareness/Reporting Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Operator Information Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Tasks Window with Example Tasks Defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Sample Risk Factor Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Reported Task in Awareness/Reporting Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Associating Tasks with Risks in the Awareness/Reporting
Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Reported Task List with a Task Selected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Recommended Analysis for Awareness/Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Setup Lifting Analysis Dialogue Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
A Sample Upper Extremity Checklist Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
A Sample Lower Extremity Checklist Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
A Sample Manual Handling Checklist Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 3
Single-Task Lifting Analysis Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Initial Lifting Analysis Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Lifting Analysis Human Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Lifting Analysis Job Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Lifting Analysis Object Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Lifting Analysis ORIGin Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Lifting Analysis DESTination Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . 32
Lifting Assumptions Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Lifting Analysis Hints Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Multiple Lift Analysis Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Report Preview Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Operator Information Dialogue Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Dialog Box to Change the LI Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Lifting Analysis Variables Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Lifting Equation Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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 ErgoEASER User’s Guide

Chapter 4
VDT Workstation Analysis Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Initial VDT Workstation Analysis Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
VDT Workstation Analysis Human Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . 48
VDT Workstation Analysis Job Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . 49
VDT Workstation Analysis Chair Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . . 50
VDT Workstation Analysis Inputs Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . . 51
VDT Workstation Analysis Display Data Entry Control Panel . . . . . . . 52
Workstation Assumptions Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Workstation Analysis Hints Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Report Preview Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Operator Information Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
VDT Workstation Analysis Variables Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Chapter 5
Overview Help Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Context-Sensitive Help Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Lifting Analysis Quick Reference Help Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
VDT Workstation Analysis Quick Reference Help Window . . . . . . . 64

viii
Introduction

This user’s guide provides step-by-step instructions for using ErgoEASER, an interactive Ergonomics
Education, Awareness, System Evaluation, & Recording tool. The introduction provides essential
information for loading the software and using this guide. The chapters that follow describe the major
components of the tool: Chapter 1&Getting Started provides an overview of the program and introduces
its three main components; Chapter 2&Awareness and Reporting describes ergonomics concepts and
issues with examples from the workplace, helping users to better understand risks associated with
potentially hazardous postures, and also describes an electronic risk analysis checklist that provides
feedback on work postures; Chapters 3&Lifting Analysis and 4&VDT Workstation Analysis provide
more- detailed, analytic support; and Chapter 5 describes the Online Help functions.

Loading the Software

This version of ErgoEASER
typically is installed by downloading
the installation files from the DOE
Internet site. Once all of the
installation files have been
downloaded and located on a
server or on a local hard disk, the
installation of ErgoEASER may
proceed by running the setup.exe
file and following the instructions
that appear on screen.
To run the software, you must have an IBM compatible computer with
a mouse and Microsoft Windows version 3.1 or higher. The computer
must have a minimum of a 386 microprocessor with 4 megabytes of
RAM, although the faster processing speed of a 486 microprocessor
with 8 megabytes of RAM will yield better performance.
The software program self-installs from a set of ten installation/setup
files that are self-extracted from compressed files that are downloaded
from the DOE EH web site.
7RLQVWDOOWKH(UJR($6(5 software program:
1. Locate the setup.exe file among the ten ErgoEASER installation
setup files that have been downloaded from the Internet. Run the
setup.exe program by double-clicking on the setup.exe icon.
2. You may select one of two installation options (or choose Exit
now to discontinue loading ErgoEASER):
 Full - Install All Files&installs entire set of ErgoEASER
Analysis files, including all program files and
bitmaps&requires about 12 megabytes of free hard disk space.

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ErgoEASER User’s Guide

 Custom&allows you to do the 12-megabyte full install

(Analysis Tools, User’s Guide, and bitmaps); or a reduced-
space installation that does not include the bitmaps (requires
about 8 megabytes). To do the reduced-space installation,
click the ErgoEASER Analysis checkbox and the User
Manual checkbox, but not the Bitmap Library checkbox. At a
later time, you may return to the custom installation and
install the bitmap files alone, in case you want to add them
later to your reduced-space install.
3. After choosing the installation option, click on Continue. The
installation will proceed; when installation is complete, you will
be prompted to choose to create a Windows group for the
program, or not. Click on Yes or No, as you prefer.
This completes the installation of ErgoEASER.

How To Use This Guide

Users A successful ergonomics program requires strong commitment from
management and active involvement from workers. As a means of
enhancing awareness of ergonomics issues and identifying potential
risks in the workplace, ErgoEASER may be used by virtually anyone
in the work place. Typically, the principal users of ErgoEASER will
be members of an ergonomics team representing various groups:
employees, management, safety/health, human resources, etc.
Because of the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the potential
users, ErgoEASER was designed to require minimal computer skill and
expertise in ergonomics. For individuals with ergonomics back-
grounds, more detailed information is accessible within the program
and alternative methods of interacting with the analysis tools are
provided.

Conventions In this guide, button names and menu options appear in Bold Face and
initial caps for easy identification. Window names are shown in
SMALL CAPS.

2
 Chapter 1--Introduction

Pull-down menus are available from the menu bar at the top of the
window (see example at left). One letter of each menu label is
underlined to indicate the corresponding keyboard accelerator key
(e.g., T for Task). The accelerator keys enable you to select pull-
down menus without clicking the mouse. To use an accelerator key,
hold down the Alt key and press the designated accelerator key on the
keyboard. When the Alt key is pressed, any pull-down menu currently
displayed will close.
Various types of buttons and data entry fields are used by ErgoEASER,
as shown in samples. A mouse click on a pushbutton typically invokes
an action, such as displaying a new window. Radio buttons provide a
mutually exclusive choice; only one radio button in a group may be
selected at once. Check boxes may appear alone or in groups and
allow selection of one or more choices.

Examples of Buttons
used in ErgoEASER

Pushbutton Radio Buttons Checkbox

Data entry fields may be accessed via the tab (or mouse-click), and
values may be entered using the keyboard or by clicking arrow buttons
to increment/decrement values. If the change involves only one or two
units, the arrow buttons are convenient; otherwise, it is often more
convenient to enter the value using the keyboard. Some fields (those
with only a limited set of possible values) have associated pull-down
selection boxes that may be easily accessed via the mouse click.

Examples of Fields
used in ErgoEASER
Data Entry Field Selection
Box

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ErgoEASER User’s Guide

4
 1--Getting Started

1—Getting Started
ErgoEASER has four major components: Getting Started, Awareness/Reporting, Analytic Tools, and
Education/Training, as shown in the INTRODUCTORY window below. The Education/Training
component is described in the Appendix.

Introductory Window

To choose any of the three available

components, click on the corresponding button in the INTRODUCTORY window. You may also choose
these components by selecting a menu option from the Window pull-down menu.
Getting Started provides an overview of the program, background information on ergonomics issues and
programs, a glossary of terms, and a reference list. Because the Glossary and Reference sections are
considered important resources, these have been made accessible through the Help menu from within
any component of ErgoEASER.

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ErgoEASER User’s Guide

Working with the Getting Started Component

Screen Layout and Getting Started is divided into five topic areas, as shown in topic list in
Navigation the upper left of the GETTING STARTED window.

Getting Started Window

To open the Introduction, Background, Ergonomics Programs,

Glossary, or References topics, position the mouse pointer on the topic
name and click the mouse. Each topic occupies only one or two pages.
As each topic is selected, a brief explanation of the main points
appears beneath the topic list. Use left/right arrow buttons at the
bottom left of the screen, or left/right arrow keys on the keyboard, to
move through the presentation one page at a time. Or, click and type a
page number directly into the page number box at the bottom of the
screen to go to a specific page.

How to Use the To view the Glossary while in the Getting Started component, click on
Glossary *ORVVDU\ in the topic list or use the arrow buttons to move to the
Glossary page. To use the Glossary, scroll through the terms shown in
the scrolling field on the right side of the GLOSSARY window.

6
 1--Getting Started

Glossary Window

You may also access the Glossary from outside Getting Started. To do
this, click on the +HOS pull-down menu and select the *ORVVDU\ menu
item. The Glossary will be displayed in a separate window overlaid on
the current display. To dismiss the GLOSSARY window, click on
Close.

How to Use the To view the References while in the Getting Started component, click
References 5HIHUHQFHV in the topic list or use the arrow buttons to move to the
References page. To view the References, scroll through the
references shown in the scrolling field on the right side of the
REFERENCES window.

References Window

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ErgoEASER User’s Guide

You may also access the References from outside Getting Started. To
do this, click on the +HOS pull-down menu and select the 5HIHUHQFHV
menu item. The References will be displayed in a separate window,
overlaid on the current display. To dismiss the REFERENCES window,
click on Close.

Resources
Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Fitting the Job
to the Worker: An Ergonomics Program Guideline. 1994.
"OSHA Draft Proposed Ergonomic Protection Standard." BNA
Reporter Special Supplement, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National
Affairs, Inc. March 22, 1995, Pp. S-56 to S-61.