Laborer Ergonomic Best Practices

General laborers can work in a wide variety of industries. Jobs may include bagging items at a grocery store, working on the docks, or delivering packages. These jobs are typically manually intensive and involve a lot of repetition. The following list of best practices can help reduce risk in all types of labor jobs.

• Clear and mark all transport routes to allow for easy access to worksites and storage facilities.
• Keep aisles and corridors wide and free of obstacles to allow for smooth and efficient movement.
• Use mechanical transport devices, such as push carts, dollies, and mobile racks, whenever possible.
• Lay out work area to minimize the need to move materials.
• Use mobile storage racks to avoid unnecessary loading and unloading.
• Divide heavy products into smaller, lighter packages.
• Provide handholds, grips, and good holding points for all packages and containers.
• Keep objects close to the body when manually handling.
• Combine heavy lifting with physically lighter tasks to increase efficiency and avoid injury and fatigue.
• Use power tools whenever possible.

To learn more about Labor & Industry Ergonomics visit our Labor & Industry Ergonomics Online Training web page.