In This Episode
Heather Ritz, ergonomics program manager at Briotix Health, and Ryan Urik, senior EHS manager at Curtiss-Wright, share how to build practical, sustainable ergonomics programs. They explain how to assess risk, involve employees, start with affordable fixes, train teams, and use transparent measures to scale improvements.
Key Takeaways
- Developing a scalable ergonomics program begins with a risk assessment to understand working conditions and how to improve them.
| - Gather employee feedback on how they perform tasks, what's working and what's not, and listen to their suggestions and feedback on potential solutions.
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- Celebrate successes in improving ergonomics and recognize the team members who took part in developing solutions.
| - Train workers on ergonomic risk, neutral positioning, task-specific adjustments, and appropriate warm-ups.
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About the Guests
Heather Ritz
Heather attained her Bachelor’s of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. She is a Certified Professional Ergonomist through the Board of Certified Professional Ergonomists. Heather’s background includes over 20 years of applying ergonomics in various industries throughout the US and internationally. Heather has worked in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, naval ship building, aerospace, distribution centers, food and beverage, steel foundries, and more. Her interests are in optimizing employee performance and the overall health and well-being of employees through the application of ergonomics in workstation redesign. She also enjoys problems solving as it relates to ergonomics and efficiency.
Ryan Urik
Ryan Urik attained a degree in B.S. Safety and Environmental Management from Slippery Rock University and a B.A in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He is a Certified Safety Professional through the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. Ryan's background includes 20 years in applying safety principles in upstream oil and gas, construction, and heavy manufacturing industries in the US and internationally as a safety professional and operational manager. Ryan has worked in a variety of challenging environments, including deepwater and arctic oil & gas drilling and production, new commercial building construction, radiological remediation, and manufacturing. His interests include risk reduction, process efficiency, program development, and mentoring EHS professionals.