Since the 1990s ergonomic assessment tools for hand/arm and whole-body posture risk have been limited to a few qualitative or semi-quantitative tools such as RULA, REBA and OCRA. These tools have been around a long time and while giving ergonomists direction on measuring risk and determining effective solutions, they have limitations such as accounting for duty cycle, above-shoulder work, or hand force limits as they apply to the general working population.
The past two decades of ergonomics research has yielded more precise biomechanical and anthropometrical data that can be used to develop new assessment modeling tools that can measure a greater scope of impact and provide more precision and confidence in assessments.
This webinar will discuss the HandPak and Work(s) assessment software programs. Where HandPak software (Potvin Biomechanics Inc.) assesses only the hands, wrists and forearms, Work(s) assesses every feasible posture for a task (no need to posture a manikin) and fully integrates ergonomics analyses of manual materials handling, the low back, neck, arms, and hands (by incorporating the push and pull modules of HandPak). Work(s) also facilitates the combination of subtask analyses, to evaluate the cumulative risk of whole jobs.
Learning Objectives
The learning objectives of this webinar will be to introduce you to the Work(s) and HandPak assessment software programs, their foundational research, and how these tools can be used in the field to assess and design work.
Speaker Bio
Jim Potvin, PhD, worked as an Ergonomist at General Motors and was a professor in Kinesiology departments at the University of Guelph, University of Windsor, and McMaster University where he’s been a Professor Emeritus since 2015. He also co-founded the University of California Berkeley COEH Online Ergonomics Program.
Dr. Potvin is an author of the Liberty Mutual Manual Materials Handling (LM-MMH) Equations, the Maximum Acceptable Effort (MAE) Equation, the Arm Force Field method, the Recommended Cumulative Recovery Analysis and HandPak, BakPak and Work(s) ergonomics software packages. He’s supervised 72 graduate students, employed 75 graduates, and published over 90 scientific articles. Jim’s been providing ergonomics and biomechanics consulting services since 1988, is the owner of Potvin Biomechanics Inc and Work(s) Ergo Inc., and consults for companies across the manufacturing, health care, and technology energy sectors.
Jim received the Research Partner Award by USCAR in 2012, The Sir Frederic Bartlett Award for outstanding contributions to ergonomics/human factors research by the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors in 2018, and the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) Triennial Outstanding Educators Award in 2021.
*Active PSHFES Membership is required for registration
