Here are responses to the questions: 1. Performance evaluations are required by law in some circumstances. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to keep records of wages and hours worked. Performance evaluations could help document job duties and qualifications for exempt status or pay raises. Some states also have laws regarding performance reviews. 2. Managers should receive special training on properly using the performance appraisal system. The training should cover how to objectively rate employees, provide constructive feedback, set goals, and ensure evaluations are consistent, fair and unbiased. Managers may be incorrectly applying the system or showing favoritism without proper guidance. 3. To hold managers accountable, their own performance evaluations and bonuses could incorporate metrics on properly conducting employee reviews

1. Ergonomic Hazards in the Workplace 1
Ergonomic Hazard in the Workplace
Maryann Dadis
National University
COH 412: Injury Prevention
Date

2. Ergonomic Hazards in the Workplace 2
Injuries relating to ergonomics is a costly and enormous
problem. According to Bureau of
Labor Statistics (2017), ergonomic-related injuries continuous
to be a significant cause of time
off in many workplaces. For example, in 2013, BLS estimated
that those injuries resulted in
380,600 of days-away-from-work. Employees will be able to
perform their jobs more effectively
if they are free from injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
This is the reason why ergonomics
has been one the focuses of the National Safety Council.
During an internship at an independent pharmacy, 2 of the
workers were suffering from
musculoskeletal disorders caused by a poorly designed
workplace. The pharmacy area was small
but busy, processing about 450 prescriptions per day. To reduce
the amount of time spent on

3. filling prescriptions, commonly prescribed or fast-moving drugs
were stocked on shelves under
the ‘customer’s window”. Because of this, retrieving
medications required the filling technician
to bend and reach. Additionally, prescriptions were arriving by
phone and the intake pharmacist
was spending a lot of time on the phone receiving the
prescription request. She suffered from
neck pain due to her neck being in bent position all the time as
headphones were not provided.
Furthermore, some computer stations did not support neutral
postures for typing. This was
because monitors and keyboards were too low for a standing
station, but there was no legroom
for sitting station either.
The ergonomic hazard that was associated with that workplace
was the awkward postures
with excessive bending and reaching. Extended reaches are
examples of awkward postures that
require the body to deviate from the neutral in the arms,
shoulders, and back. Performing tasks in
such positions repeatedly enforce increased stress on the
muscles and joints. Injuries occur when

4. stressed muscles do not have enough time to recover. The
injuries that those employees sustained
Ergonomic Hazards in the Workplace 3
were caused by frequent bending, reaching and awkward
postures with the computer and
telephone use. The arrangement of the pharmacy and the lack of
headphones resulted in twisted
postures and neck strain.
Hierarchy of Control
The hierarchy of controls is a model used by safety
professionals to explain and establish
effective and practical approaches for minimizing contact with
workplace hazards. There is no
single definitive model, but a rather extensive variety of
interpretations of the model (Coble,
2015). The model is wide-ranging, so it can be applied to a
broad range of dangers in the
workplace.
Engineering Control: Ergonomically designed workstations,
chairs, and equipment. Integrate

5. adjustable workstation to accommodate employees of various
sizes. Adjustment of workstation
and chair to fit the user. Changes in the physical setup of the
workplace and job that eliminate or
reduce exposure to MSD risk factors (NIOSH, 2016). Monitor
height should equal to or slightly
below the user’s eye height. A monitor arm can also be used to
allow the computer to be
positioned based on the user’s height.
Administrative Control: Education regarding ergonomic hazards
and control strategies should
be provided to the employees. Additionally, employers should
encourage the use of “right guard”
or the system that prompts workers to take stretching breaks to
relieve discomforts. (OSHA,
2015).
Personal Protective Equipment- A wrist brace can be worn to
prevent carpal tunnel syndrome,
knee splint, and a back brace to help protect the knee and the
back from bending. Headphones
can be worn as well to prevent neck strain.
Ergonomic Hazards in the Workplace 4

6. Since that pharmacy had more than one employee experiencing
a work-related injury, the
California ergonomics standard was triggered. According to
Society for Human Resource
Management, “if the standard is triggered, then the employer
must develop a written program
covering a worksite evaluation, control of the exposures and
plans for training employees”
(SHRM, 2017). Any job exposures that resulted in injuries must
be corrected, or, if hazards
cannot be corrected, they must be minimized. The employer
must implement engineering
controls including redesigning workstations, and administrative
controls, such as work breaks.
Moreover, all employers operating in California are responsible
for conforming to the state’s
applicable workplace safety and health laws supervised and
imposed by the California Division
of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA). Employers do
not to follow California’s safety
standards can face penalties for noncompliance.
In conclusion, poorly designed workstations result in many
preventable injuries and

7. costly worker’s compensation cases. It is also associated with
decreased productivity and
efficiency. Simple interventions and modifications are available
to correct those problems. It is
important for employers to execute ergonomic solutions. OSHA
(2016), has reported the
effectiveness of engineering and administrative controls.
Ergonomic improvements are cost-
effective promoting safer workplaces that generate productive
employees. (NIOSH, 2015).
Ergonomic Hazards in the Workplace 5
References:
Coble, D. (2015). Managing Hazards through the Hierarchy of
Controls. Safely Made. A
technical publication of ASSE’s Manufacturing Practice
Specialty

8. Society for Human Resource Management/ SHRM. (2017).
Complying with California Safety
Standards. Retrieved from
https://www.shrm.org/californiacomplyingwithsafetystandards
McDiarmid, M. A., Fujikawa, J. (1996). Controlling
occupational exposure to ergonomic
injuries. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 53(14).
MSDS Online, 2015. Workplace Ergonomic Injuries. Retrieved
from.
https://www.msdsonline.com/blog/health-
safety/2015/06/16/workplace-ergonomics-
injuries.
NIOSH (2000). NIOSH Testimony to OSHA: Comments on the
Proposed Ergonomics Program.
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2001-108.
Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Retrieved from
https://www.bls.gov/iif/
OSHA (2016) Safety & Health Management Systems Tool;
Hazard Prevention and Control.
Retrieved from
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/safetyhealth/comp3.html

9. https://www.shrm.org/
https://www.msdsonline.com/blog/health-
safety/2015/06/16/workplace-ergonomics-
https://www.msdsonline.com/blog/health-
safety/2015/06/16/workplace-ergonomics-
https://www.bls.gov/iif/
PRIMARY CARE Scenario
Type of care provided
Scenario
Care in this type of setting is delivered by physicians, physician
assistants, nurse practitioners, and ad-
vanced practice professionals. This area of health care is the
most widely used, and it is a major focus
of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, focusing on primary care
providers and decreasing the focus on the
utilization of specialty providers.
This primary care organization has a high focus on creating an
environment for their most valuable as-
set—their employees.
Last year, as a result of gaining more feedback from the
employees, the facility contracted the services
of a third-party organization to conduct an employee survey.
The result was some surprising comments
from employees regarding missed opportunities for promotions,
special assignments, and skills certifica-
tion/licensure.

10. The Director of Human Resources, meeting with the executive
staff to review the survey results, places
an emphasis on some ongoing problems and create some action
plans for resolving and rectifying the
employee concerns. He states that the organization has a very
good performance management system
that includes good rating instruments and clearly stated policy
and procedures for ensuring each em-
ployee receives fair and constructive feedback for the review
period.
Under initial scrutiny, the performance management system
seems to indicate that the Director of Hu-
man Resources is correct: The system is almost perfect.
However, upon closer examination and further
analysis, it appears that some managers use the system as
designed, but others use a more preferred
approach that fits their “team.”
When considering that noncompliance with the current system
could result in wrongful terminations and
failure to gain a promotion or new assignment, how would you
address the following:
Question 1
Question 2
Are performance evaluations required by law? Why or why not?
How should managers receive special training in the use of the
appraisal system?
Question 3
How would you hold the managers accountable for the proper

11. use of performance appraisal systems?
Question 4
Question 5
How do you determine if a performance appraisal system is
effective or ineffective?
How do you determine the factors used in the evaluation of
employee performance?
Question 6
Question 7
If the policy and rating instruments are “almost perfect,” what
could be the primary cause of the prob-
lems with the employees?
Given the feedback from the survey, what are the potential
repercussions of the workplace culture?