VEHICLE ERGONOMIC ASSESSMENT FOR ALL VEHICLES

(including cars, heavy vehicles, forklifts, plant and farm machinery)

The Occupational Safety and Health research has found substantial evidence that ergonomics programs can cut workers’ compensation costs, increase productivity and decrease employee turnover. Workplaces are becoming aware of the need to look at computer workstations and other manual labor workstations to assist reduce work-related injuries. What has been largely overlooked until now is that the vehicle is a workstation too. Whether it is driving to and from a single job, or a large part of everyday work, the car as a work station is just as important to look at for prevention of an injury as other areas of the work environment. Vehicle comfort is essential to maximize concentration and increase driving endurance and safety. Furthermore, research suggests that 75% of Australian road crashes are related to human error. The impact of incorrect ergonomics on fatigue, concentration, and pain is considered by Williams Occupational Therapy to be a safety issue.

The Williams Occupational Therapy approach to this is proactive; our aim is prevention and cost reduction for the organization. Williams Occupational Therapy can tailor an intervention program for your organization. This can include group education programs through to individual assessments and can include the following areas:

1. Entry/Exit of Vehicle

2. Seating adjustments for anthropometrics of the driver

3. Specialised seating and vibration reduction

4. Associated Work Tasks including loading, unloading and manual handling

5. Design and Layout and vehicle selection

6. Modification Requirements

7. Driving Style – assessing the impact on driving endurance

8. Fatigue management

PRE-WORK DRIVER SCREENING PROGRAMS:

Prevention is the key to cost and incident reduction in the workplace and in the community. Williams Occupational Therapy can provide driver assessments at all levels within an organisation. Designed for new employees, pre-work driver screens can reduce the potential of injury and accidents, and can include the following driver performance areas:

1. Vision – Vision is our most important sense and provides 85-95% of all sensing clues in driving.

2. Cognition – hazard detection, risk management

3. Road Law

4. Commentary & Visual Identification Assessment

5. Navigation

6. Vehicle Seating

7. Driving skills

8. Physical Status and Reaction Time

9. Vehicle selection

The pre-work driver screening programs can be customised to meet your industry requirements.

Our Occupational Therapists have  industry experience and guarantee a professional outcome. Learning materials are provided for theory and practical learning.