Research Methods and Statistics (RMS) 2022: Ergonomics
General
- Graduate
- 40 learners; teams of 5
- 64 hours per learner
- Dates set by experience
- Learners self-assign
Preferred companies
- 6/9 project matches
- Anywhere
- Academic experience
- Any
- Any
Categories
Skills
Project timeline
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September 19, 2022Experience start
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September 20, 2022Project Scope Meeting
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December 6, 2022Final Presentations
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December 17, 2022Experience end
Timeline
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September 19, 2022Experience start
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September 20, 2022Project Scope Meeting
The Professor, students and the company will schedule to meet this week to discuss the project scope. Companies will be expected to provide support and resources (e.g. data, photos, tools, time, etc.) to the research project group as needed.
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December 6, 2022Final Presentations
Employers will be expected to virtually attend a final presentation sometime during the week of Dec. 5th or 12th. The date and time will be confirmed by the course instructor, student group, and company representative. Employers will be asked to provide feedback. Final paper provided by term end.
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December 17, 2022Experience end
Overview
- Details
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This fall (September to December 2022), Fanshawe College’s Advanced Ergonomic Studies (AES) 2022/2023 cohort of students will be challenged to learn and work in an incredibly unique and innovative way. The AES faculty have learned through the pandemic that remote workplace projects can provide our ergo students with valuable job skills and experiences. Therefore, we are looking to industry to help us bring ergonomics research projects from organizations, such as yourselves, into the classroom.
We would like to invite you and your organization to participate in this fall’s Research Methods and Statistics (RMS) class. This RMS course is designed to prepare students to conduct research as it applies to the field of ergonomics. A small group of our AES students will be tasked to work remotely with your organization to conduct an online survey with your employees that answers some ergonomics question you may like to resolve.
- Learner skills
- Data analysis, Research, Ergonomic analysis, Office and industrial ergonomics, Literature reviews
- Deliverables
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Project deliverables will include but are not limited to:
- Initial meeting with your assigned student group sometime during the week of September 19th
- Survey distribution to your employees or members, once or twice during the months of October and November (if necessary)
- Up to an hour presentation by your student group summarizing key research findings, during the week of December 5th or December 12th
- 10 to 20-page journal-ready paper/report including a literature review, research methodology outline, analysis methods on the data collected, summary of results, discussion and conclusion, by the end of term
Project Examples
Under the guidance of AES’s faculty members Karen Hoodless (Professor of RMS) and Allison Stephens (AES’s Program Coordinator and Professor), the proposed remote research activity should align with the workplace expectations of a novice practitioner of ergonomics helping a company, for example (but not limited to):
- ·identify workplace hazards and where the company should prioritise their ergo assessments and resources. The following webinar link provides a good example of a remote survey-based ergo research project, with wind energy sector technicians, that was conducted by Dr. Steve Fischer from the University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/uwaterloo/recording/playba ck/1dbd46f8588d4291a76ed2e0c5111ba1
To access the webinar above, enter the Password: Wind2020
- compare work demands or methods before and after job modifications (e.g. lift
- assists, layouts, tools, or equipment)
- conduct product comparisons (ergo assessment software, tools, equipment, keyboards, mice, sit/stand desks, carts, insoles, exoskeletons, smart-beds, etc.)
- assess employees’ level of ergonomics awareness or training
- explore employees’ reception to a workplace stretching program
- investigate staff challenges in enforcing safe handling activities and policies
- evaluate if the recent implementation of a job rotation scheme achieved the desired effect of reducing strain/sprain injuries
Emphasis will be placed on the students to work with your company to design the research protocol, develop an online survey, analyze the responses (statistical analysis), present the results back to your organization in the form of both a scientific paper and a formal presentation, and to meet both College and company deadlines.
Additional company criteria
Companies must answer the following questions to submit a match request to this experience:
Be available to attend your student group's final presentation virtually, sometime during the week of December 5th or 12th, and to provide feedback.
Provide student access to applicable resources (e.g. employees, documents, company stats), and to software, products, or equipment being tested, and assist in the development, distribution and data collection efforts for the survey.
Providing a dedicated contact(s) who will act as the student's primary supervisor over the duration of the virtual project. Ideally, a secondary contact should be provided as a backup. Students will interact virtually with their primary contact, as a minimum, on a weekly basis.
To ensure the success of your research project, we ask our participating companies to connect with the Course Instructor (Karen) to confirm the scope of your research project is an appropriate fit for this ergonomics course.