Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

OSHA Announces Final Ergonomics Program Standard

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the will-you-be-my-posture-pal? dept.

Desdinova77 writes "OSHA has announced rules for proper ergonomics to prevent RSI type injuries On their site (I had trouble gtting to this site but it is the 'official' link on the OSHA site. There is also a story about it on Yahoo " Is this going to have an affect on any of your offices? I doubt my broken couch meets the specs.

2 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Just what the US needs, more laws by Seumas · · Score: 5
    I hate unnecessary government regulation as much as anyone. I think that OSHA attacks issues that are very important and should be addressed by companies, but I think that it should be less of a 'government regulation' and more of a "if you don't take care of your employers, we're going to stick it to you" from the insurance company. At least that keeps the government further from it and provides incentive for the employer to take care of their employees (who are, after all, hurting themselves all for the benefit of their employer).

    Anyone who is old enough to remember the days prior to OSHA will probably admit that it is better than not having OSHA, though. There was a day when a handful of deaths were expected in a lot of jobs. People who built some of our biggest dams swung from cranes a couple hundred feet over the earth without any tethers and operated dangerous machinery without any protection at all. What are a few lives compared to meeting a deadline?! A company can always hire more people -- but you can only meet a deadline once.

    OSHA seems to help in some way to strike a balance wherein someone finally tells employers that they can't neglect their employes simply because addressing the problems directly gained from their daily job will cost a few bucks.

    Don't misunderstand me though -- I'm not an OSHA fan, either. I'm just saying that some sort of regulation is obviously needed, because before OSHA, we didn't have ergo-anything and if you couldn't perform your job anymore because you were hurting from your job, you better hope you have a lot of sick-days saved, because as far as your boss was concerned, you were slacking off if you weren't punching the clock.
    ---
    seumas.com

  2. Just what the US needs, more laws by Hairy_Potter · · Score: 4

    How wonderful, more government intervention.

    Listen, there is a reason that the United States, with less government internvention, is a computing powerhouse while countries with stricter government rules (I'm talking Sweden and France and probably other European countries) are lagging in productivity parametrics with respect to the IT industry. United States IT companies are used to working with fewer government constraints, they can respond quicker to industry pressures and are more nimble, thus more successful and productive.

    I don't have too much of an issue with OSHA offering guidelines, so that the smarter IT people can by ergonomic equipmenton thier own (I know I will, since my typing skills are my livelihood), but we shouldn't handicap busineeses that can't afford this.

    If we do, we may slide down that same slippery slope to Socialism that Europe has descended, and some other country will eat out cheese. Believe me,the coders in India are very smart and very hungry,and would love to be the top IT hot dog on the bock.