• Home
• Workers
• Regulations
• Enforcement
• Data & Statistics
• Training
• Publications
• Newsroom
• Small Business

"This document was published prior to the publication of OSHA's final rule on Ergonomics Program (29 CFR 1910.900, November 14, 2000), and therefore does not necessarily address or reflect the provisions set forth in the final standard."

News Release
Wednesday, September 3, 1997
Contact: (202) 219-8151

The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will hold the second of 10 regional conferences on ergonomics Oct. 30 in Chicago, Ill.

This regional conference, entitled "Practical Applications in Ergonomics Today," focuses on ways to combat repetitive stress injuries, one of the fastest growing and most costly threats to worker health.

"These conferences take a practical, problem-solving approach to reduction of ergonomic hazards in the workplace," said Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Gregory R. Watchman. "We must work together to reduce musculoskeletal disorders that result from such hazards. These disorders represent the largest group of preventable job injuries and illnesses in the United States."

"Effective Practices in Ergonomics" will enable workers, unions, employers, trade and professional associations, academics and government to share information about effective solutions to reducing exposures to ergonomic hazards in the workplace.

The conference is designed specifically for small to mid-size businesses and will promote the use of ergonomic principles to improve worker safety, health, quality and productivity. It will focus on lessons learned from successful workplace ergonomic programs and will encourage the exchange of ergonomic program experience and knowledge among the participants.

The conference is co-sponsored by OSHA and its Region V National Safety Education Center, which includes the National Safety Council, Northern Illinois University and the Construction Safety Council.

The conference will be held on Oct. 30 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at McCormick Place-East in Chicago. The cost of attending is $40. Advance registration is necessary. For further information, call 1-800-539-7468.

At 6 p.m., OSHA will hold a town hall meeting to give the public an opportunity to provide input on what should be included in an ergonomics program management standard. The meeting is for workers, health care providers/the medical community, industry, small business and any others interested in the standard. No registration is required for the town hall meeting.

"Developing an ergonomics standard is one aspect of OSHA's four-pronged approach to reducing repetitive stress injuries," said Watchman. "We want the widest possible input from those interested in such a standard."

The other parts of the OSHA approach to reducing repetitive stress injuries are education, research and enforcement.

The first regional conference on ergonomics is scheduled for Sept. 17 in Lockport, N.Y. Information on that Sept. 17 conference is available from Sharon Zimmerman, Assistant to the Coordinator, at Niagara County Community College at (716) 433-1856. A town hall meeting on an ergonomics standard will follow that conference.

* Town Hall Meeting originally scheduled has been postponed. Details will be announced when it is rescheduled.