Ergonomics… A Piece of Cake

Even cake decorating has its job hazards. Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, Mich., recently held an ergonomic design workshop led by Humantech’s certified professional ergonomist, Kent Hatcher. Through observation and evaluation, participants learned how to redesign and reengineer the tools and/or their environment to fit the person who will be using them. Common movements of a bread and pastry maker include lifting and pouring bulk-sized bags of ingredients such as flour or sugar, body twisting and extended reaching when stirring large vats of batter, and inserting and removing items from deep industrial-sized ovens. All of these tasks may cause overexertion injuries which are attached to an annual cost of over 50 billion dollars in workers’ compensation fees. “Ergonomics has everything to do with maintaining safety and efficiency in the workplace,” says James Good, President of Humantech. “If people are given the right tools and the capability of performing their jobs, they will be efficient.”