PRE-CONFERENCE Workshops

Take advantage of the opportunity to enhance your skills and boost your learning by participating in a pre-conference workshop. Learn from experienced practitioners who will address your concerns about ergonomics. They are open to all registered in-person conference attendees and require a separate fee.

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Monday, March 17

BCPE Ergonomics Certification

8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Presenter: Robert J. Smillie, President, Foundation for Professional Ergonomics

Part 1: Review of Requirements
Overview/Abstract: Participants will learn what certification means and what are the basic steps to become certified. To become certified, participants will learn about the core competencies and of what topics they will need to have some knowledge and understanding.

Learning Objectives: Participants will become familiar with the core competencies required for certification and work with instructors and peers to review their relevant coursework and work products, which will yield a gap analysis of their intended certification application materials.

Part 2: Preparing for BCPE Exam
Overview/Abstract: Participants will review the BCPE Core Competencies, of which the exam is based. They will learn what percentage of questions go with each competency, what the sub competencies are, and what knowledge and skill are considered critical for each competency. Participants will review all the major subject areas and get an understanding of which areas they will need to address before sitting for the exam. Overall subject reviews of key competency areas will be provided.

Learning Objectives: The outcome of the course is that participants will have developed their own specific study plan that they can use to prepare for the exam.

A Deep Dive into Office Ergonomic Standards

8 a.m. – Noon
Presenters: Teresa Bellingar, Senior Corporate Ergonomist, Haworth, Inc.

Get ready to roll up your sleeves and learn about updates that have occurred over the past few years to office ergonomic standards. Participate in a conversation about anthropometric trends to better understand how these trends impact the standards and affect furniture design. This will lead into an overview of the North American office ergonomics standards (BIFMA, HFES, CSA and CGSB) and changes that have occurred doing the revision phases with a focus on the new recommendations for chair backrest tension in ANSI/BIFMA X10.1-2024.

Learn about the different types of chair mechanisms and how they may or may not meet these new recommendations. Spend some time discussing office ergonomic standards and certifications from Europe and Asia/Pacific, such as where to purchase them and ahigh-level overview of similarities/differences to North American office ergonomic standards (i.e., can a chair meet all global ergonomic standards?).

Additionally, attendees will learn about ISO 24496 the standard that defines the protocol for how global furniture manufacturers measure chairs to better understand the measurements published for chairs. Participate in case studies related to using standards to purchase furniture.

Come keen to learn, leave knowledge-rich and motivated to get these standards working for you.

What You Will Learn:

Anthropometric Statistics and Trends
Overview of North American Office Ergonomics Standards
New Recommendations for Chair Backrest Tension in ANSI/BIFMA X10.1-2024
Discussion of Chair Mechanism Types
Identification of Office Ergonomic Standards and Certifications from Europe and Asia/Pacific
Understanding of How Chairs are Measured
Using Standards to Purchase Furniture

Effective Test and Evaluation of New Safety Technologies

8 a.m. – Noon
Presenters: Marisol Barrero, Global Ergonomics Manager, Vibrantz Technologies; Jesse Jacobs, Product Director, Science & Research, Liberty Mutual Insurance

As companies seek to improve the safety and security of their people and business, many are turning to new technologies such as wearables and exos, computer vision, robotics, and artificial intelligence platforms. To help you make more confident and effective choices with your resources, this workshop will highlight: (a) considerations prior to embarking on the project and during vendor review; (b) recommended stepwise approaches and scale evaluations; (c) key considerations for designing a valid evaluation; and (d) recommended approaches for successful change leadership. We will then engage an interactive activity to help you outline a specific example of interest to you. Participants will leave this workshop armed with practical, actionable knowledge to help facilitate more effective and successful testing of new safety technologies.

Mastering Ergonomics: The Blueprint for an Effective Process

1 – 5 p.m.
Presenter: Rick Barker, Senior Director of Solution Strategy, Velocity EHS

Every successful process requires a driver to establish a roadmap and continually monitor progress. If you're the architect of your ergonomics program, this workshop is for you. Based on ISO 45001 and the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle of continuous improvement, participants will roll up their sleeves and get to work planning or improving their company's ergonomics process.

This workshop covers the key elements of a written ergonomics plan, considerations for establishing your ergonomics team, activities you can perform to enhance stakeholder alignment, and how to select metrics that are aligned with your process maturity and stakeholder objectives. This workshop combines lectures, role playing, small group activities, and discuss.

This session is intended for site, division, and corporate level ergonomics leaders and sponsors.

Participants will be able to:

Identify gaps in their current ergonomics plan
Gather and incorporate stakeholder input into their ergonomics plan
Select metrics and presentation methods appropriate to their ergonomics program maturity and organizational structure

Tools participants will receive:

Ergonomics team membership worksheet
Stakeholder alignment activity handout
Metrics examples and selection worksheet
Tip sheet for enhancing your ergonomics plan