I recently met with a colleague who is a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Our discussion centered around the proposal for OSHA to regulate ergonomics. OSHA wants to reduce employee jobsite and repetitive motion injuries. He was extremely concerned with the thought of having OSHA regulate the construction industry. It could change the entire way we perform many tasks.
Ergonomics is one of those $10 words meaning the way we move when performing our job. Studying the motion of construction employees is nothing new. Ergonomics may be a word that has recently come into vogue, but it has been a part of the construction profession for the past century. My introduction into this field came while studying the work of Frank Gilbreath, one of the great industrial engineers of this century. Gilbreath was immortalized in the book, Cheaper By The Dozen.