Leonard Bevill has over 25 years of experience in occupational health. He holds a bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation and a master’s in exercise science, with an emphasis on ergonomics and biomechanics. Leonard Bevill is also president and CEO of Macon Occupational Medicine, an occupational health organization based in Macon, Georgia, and dedicated to fostering safe, healthy workplaces in America. Occupational safety and health is an all-encompassing endeavor. It covers many overlooked design factors, including workstations, tools, and equipment. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 33 percent of all work-related injuries and illnesses are caused by Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), which affect workers across different industries. Work-related MSDs result from heavy lifting, pushing, pulling, reaching overhead, and bending, with repetitive, unnatural posture and movement being the primary predisposing factors. To reduce the number and severity of such injuries, OSHA mandates employers to apply ergonomic principles to the design of their work environment. The workspace should cause zero sore backs, behinds, shoulders, or wrists. Poorly designed equipment, tools, and workstations all force the human body to assume an unnatural movement or posture. Therefore, incorporating ergonomics and occupational biomechanics into workplace design leads to fewer and less severe work-related MSDs.

1. The Importance of Ergonomic Workspaces
Leonard Bevill

2. Introduction
Leonard Bevill has over 25 years of experience in occupational health. He holds
a bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation and a master’s in exercise
science, with an emphasis on ergonomics and biomechanics. Leonard Bevill is
also president and CEO of Macon Occupational Medicine, an occupational
health organization based in Macon, Georgia, and dedicated to fostering safe,
healthy workplaces in America.

3. Occupational safety and health is an all-encompassing endeavor. It covers
many overlooked design factors, including workstations, tools, and equipment.
According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 33
percent of all work-related injuries and illnesses are caused by
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs), which affect workers across different
industries. Work-related MSDs result from heavy lifting, pushing, pulling,
reaching overhead, and bending, with repetitive, unnatural posture and
movement being the primary predisposing factors.

4. To reduce the number and severity of such injuries, OSHA mandates
employers to apply ergonomic principles to the design of their work
environment. The workspace should cause zero sore backs, behinds,
shoulders, or wrists. Poorly designed equipment, tools, and workstations all
force the human body to assume an unnatural movement or posture.
Therefore, incorporating ergonomics and occupational biomechanics into
workplace design leads to fewer and less severe work-related MSDs.