Ergonomics

Hey Hey!

" In early times man needed to use only simple tools to scratch out a living from the earth. With the comming of the industrial age revoulition the complexity and number of tools that man must use in the work place has increased astonomicaly"  (J, T. Talty, 1988)

To me ergonomics is about the relationship of the person, their occupation and how the environment that they work in has a particular affect on them. Basically all 3 must have a good relationship together in order to keep the person comfortable within that environment. According to MedlinePlus (2011), Ergonomics looks at what kind of work you do, what tools you use and your whole job environment. The aim is to find the best fit between you and your job conditions.
For me as an Occupational Therapist it is important for me to have knowledge on ergonomics because I will need to find the best relationship between the occupation, environment and occupation. Having knowledge will enable me to make changes to these aspects to find the best fit for my clients to enable smooth working. According to Caulton & Dickson (2007) the reason myself as an OT needs to have knowledge on ergonomics is so I can "constantly make slight invisible adjustments to an activity to adapt to the needs of those taking part and ensure that it continues to work for its intended purpose."

Breaking down the ergonomics of rugby league.

Person:

I enjoy playing rugby.

I know the basic game structure/play.

Have played some rugby before so am competent on tackling, passing etc.

I'm KEEN to learn new things.

I have free time when trainings are on.

I am willing to put my own time into getting better.

Need energy to play.

I have mouth guard and boots.

Activity/Occupation:

Certain skills are needed to play, need to be able to learn moves/plays fast.

Have to be able to time yourself and choose appropriate time to do certain things.

The team training has to be completed with the team.

Most shapes, sizes and skills have a specific role in the team.

There are 2 levels of occupational engagement:

Turning up to the trainings (90mins) and the game (60mins) and going for runs and to the gym outside of trainings to better yourself.

To play all you need is mouth guard and rugby boots. everything else is supplied: balls, uniform, cones etc.

Environment:

Rugby requires a clear space outside that enables movement of the players and the ball.

Trainings take place on the field as do the games. The field is 122m by 70m at its maximum.

Weather can affect the game.

On game days there has to be some opposition present.

Here is a rough look at the ergonomics of rugby and to me I think they suit me quite well. But for someone that doesn't have the money or is not physically fit then this may be an issue.



References
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ergonomics.html

Caulton, R. & Dickson, R. (2007). What’s going on? Finding an explanation for what we do. In J. Creek & A. Lawson-Porter (Eds.), Contemporary issues in occupational therapy (pp. 87-114). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

J, T. Talty (1988) Industrial hygine egineering. Noyes Data Corperation: New Jersey