Research Methods and Statistics (RMS) 2024: Ergonomics
General
- Certificate; Capstone
- 30 learners; teams of 4
- 30 hours per learner
- Dates set by experience
- Educators assign learners to projects
Preferred companies
- 6 projects wanted
- Anywhere
- Academic experience
- Large enterprise, Small to medium enterprise
- Any
Categories
Skills
Project timeline
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September 13, 2024Experience start
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December 21, 2024Experience end
Overview
- Details
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This fall (September to December 2024), Fanshawe College’s Advanced Ergonomics Studies (AES) 2024/2025 cohort of students will be challenged to learn and work with actual companies in a unique and innovative way. The AES faculty have learned that remote school projects, that involve industry partners, can provide our ergonomics students with valuable job skills and experiences while still in school. Therefore, we are looking to you and your industry to help us bring your ergonomics-related research proposals into our classrooms.
There are many opportunities for collaboration, but specifically, I (Professor Karen Hoodless) would like to invite you and your organization to participate in my Research Methods and Statistics (RMS) class. This course is designed to prepare students to conduct ergonomics-related research with an organization such as yours. A small group of 3-4 AES students will be tasked to work remotely with your company to develop and conduct an online survey with your employees that answers some ergonomics question that you would like to answer.
- Learner skills
- Scientific process, Field research, Ergonomics project investigations
- 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 13, 2024
- Survey distribution to your employees or members, once or twice during the month of
- November (earlier if possible)
- Up to an hour presentation by your student group summarizing key research findings,
- during either the week of December 9, 2024
- By the end of December, you will received a 10 to 20-page journal-ready paper/report including an abstract, introduction, literature review, research methodology outline, analyses performed on the data collected, summary of results, discussion and conclusion.
Project Examples
Ideally, the remote research projects that we are looking for should align with my course’s
goals and objectives and the workplace expectations of a novice practitioner of research in
ergonomics. Some of our past collaborative research projects included:
· identifying workplace hazards to help the company prioritise their ergo assessments,
resources and employees’ needs
· comparing work demands or methods before and after job modifications (e.g. lift
assists, layouts, tools, or equipment)
· conducting product comparisons (ergo assessment software, tools, equipment,
keyboards, mice, sit/stand desks, carts, insoles, exoskeletons, smart-beds, classroom seating, etc.)
· assessing employees’ level of body mechanics, ergonomics awareness or training
· exploring employees’ reception to a workplace stretching program
· investigating staff challenges in enforcing safe handling activities and policies
· evaluating if the recent implementation of a job rotation scheme achieved the desired
effect of reducing strain/sprain injuries
· investigating the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on office ergonomics and well-being of employees
· collecting feedback on current standard ergo chairs and their employees’ level of knowledge on their adjustment features and comfort
· assessing the success of a pilot MSD Prevention training program and providing
guidance if the program should be expanded across the organization
evaluating if recent ergo interventions improve employee morale and show a reduction in workplace injuries
Research projects, that we may be interested in, are not limited to the above examples.
However, 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, all the while meeting both course and company deadlines within this fall’s school term.