By Chris Wyatt, Norfolk Ship Support Activity Public Affairs
NORFOLK (NNS) -- Norfolk Ship Support Activity (NSSA) hosted
the Navy Ergonomics class for a tour of its Intermediate Level shops, March 26.
The class is one of the core courses under Naval Safety
Environmental Training Program required by the Office of the Chief of Naval
Operations instruction manual for forces ashore.
"This is a great opportunity for the students and the
command. The command gets thirty-five sets of eyes coming in freshly indoctrinated
in what types of hazards to look for while they go through our spaces,"
said NSSA Safety Specialist John Mapp.
Work-related injuries (including those of the neck, upper
extremities and low back) are one of the leading causes of lost workday injury
and illness in the Navy. Sailors can be exposed to risk factors at work, such
as lifting heavy items, bending, reaching overhead, pushing and pulling heavy
loads, working in awkward body postures and performing the same or similar
tasks repetitively.
"Ergonomics is a real applied science," said Lee
Ostrom, associate dean and full professor at the University of Idaho. "This
opportunity to come in and tour an industrial work center gives our students a
real life work environment to apply the analysis that they learned in
class."
The class had a heavy focus on NSSA's Hull Branch primarily
because they manipulate the largest and or bulkiest equipment in the building.
Accommodation (Accom) ladders are one of the bigger pieces
of equipment that the shipfitter shop repairs. Accom ladders can be up to 60 or
70 feet in length and made of aluminum.
"My main focus was to take the students through my
shipfitter shop where we work on Accom ladders," said Senior Chief Hull
Technician Shane Stephenson, NSSA Hull Branch Division leading chief petty
officer. "We are looking for a better way to move the Accom ladders to and
from the piers. With the students, I can get a fresh set of eyes to come in and
make suggestions on a better way to rack and stack my ladders."
After the completion of the tour, students document their
findings and make suggestions on possible solutions.
"We really appreciate the help we receive from NSSA and
all of the Sailors who work to get us into their spaces to do
walkthroughs," said Ostrom.
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