Equipment Recommendations
Some ergonomists and companies sell equipment in addition to providing consulting. We feel this is a severe conflict of interest, typically resulting in the recommendation of more equipment than necessary. Nor should manufacturers engage in consulting – how are they to know about products
other than their own?
At VocSolutions Inc., we work with a variety of manufacturers and vendors and attend numerous conferences and exhibitions in efforts to learn as much about the changing landscape of ergonomic equipment as possible. We feel strongly that instruction in the use of proper ergonomic technique, and helping employees understand the rationale behind these techniques, is the key to injury prevention. However, certain equipment is sometimes beneficial or even necessary in reducing risks to an acceptable level – when this is the case, we want to ensure that we are recommending the best solution for both the specific individual as well as the specific work environment, and we won’t be constrained by manufacturer relationships when doing so.
Great options usually exist, but so do poor ones – VocSolutions evaluators ensure that the right solutions are available when needed.
Remote Assessments
If you have an employee who needs assistance working in Duluth, Dallas, or Des Moines, or just about anywhere, how costly and inefficient would it be to send an evaluator to this home or office to see one person? Furthermore, how can it be known that a “local resource” (who in these cases is usually an “ergonomist” straight from the internet) is competent and will follow the corporate process and standards? This is rarely a situation to be trusted. Just because an individual or a site is remote does NOT mean that our evaluators cannot support these employees to be more productive and pain-free. We perform remote evaluations regularly for many of our clients. The key is twofold:
Some ergonomists and companies sell equipment in addition to providing consulting. We feel this is a severe conflict of interest, typically resulting in the recommendation of more equipment than necessary. Nor should manufacturers engage in consulting – how are they to know about products
other than their own?
At VocSolutions Inc., we work with a variety of manufacturers and vendors and attend numerous conferences and exhibitions in efforts to learn as much about the changing landscape of ergonomic equipment as possible. We feel strongly that instruction in the use of proper ergonomic technique, and helping employees understand the rationale behind these techniques, is the key to injury prevention. However, certain equipment is sometimes beneficial or even necessary in reducing risks to an acceptable level – when this is the case, we want to ensure that we are recommending the best solution for both the specific individual as well as the specific work environment, and we won’t be constrained by manufacturer relationships when doing so.
Great options usually exist, but so do poor ones – VocSolutions evaluators ensure that the right solutions are available when needed.
Remote Assessments
If you have an employee who needs assistance working in Duluth, Dallas, or Des Moines, or just about anywhere, how costly and inefficient would it be to send an evaluator to this home or office to see one person? Furthermore, how can it be known that a “local resource” (who in these cases is usually an “ergonomist” straight from the internet) is competent and will follow the corporate process and standards? This is rarely a situation to be trusted. Just because an individual or a site is remote does NOT mean that our evaluators cannot support these employees to be more productive and pain-free. We perform remote evaluations regularly for many of our clients. The key is twofold:
- Experienced, competent evaluators who are able to ask the right questions and identify solutions as readily as if they were onsite;
- The process. We have created a step-by-step process incorporating roles and responsibilities for the employee, manager, and evaluator. Based on adhering to the process steps, the evaluator is able to be provided with the information necessary to make the right decisions the first time. Let us help you with our tools, resources, workforce.