During the past 20 years, many ergonomic tools have been developed to assess risk. The Ergonomic Tool Kit was developed by the AIHA Ergonomics Committee to provide information on peer-reviewed ergonomic analysis tools in the public domain. The tool kit provides the resources to identify the proper exposure assessment tool that is avital component of an overall exposure assessment strategy. There were 17 assessment tools evaluated for applicability, limitations, validations, and other criteria by a team of ergonomic students and faculty. In addition, ergonomic students (novice users) completed several assessments of realworld problems and reliability testing. The information, presented by students from Auburn University, the University of Cincinnati, and Purdue University, will provide a wealth of information about common ergonomic assessment tools. The aim of the tool kit is providing the practitioner with information to select the best tool(s) for a given situation. In addition, two practitioners who routinely use analysis tools will present a trained user perspective. They will discuss the reasons tools are important and how they choose a tool, as well as provide practical tips for use.
• Overview of the Ergonomic Tool Kit. K.G. Davis, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
• Compilation of the Assessment Tools for Ergonomic Tool Kit. M. Terrell, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
• A Comparison and Contrast of the Tools in the Ergonomic Tool Kit. K. Smith, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.
• Putting the Tool Kit into Practice: A Study at Auburn University. E. Boelhouwer, Auburn University, Auburn, AL.
• How Reliable are the Results? S. Cole, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN.
• A Practitioner's Viewpoint: Helping Employers with Ergonomic Tool Selection and Use. C.J. Brigham, 1Source Safety and Health, Inc., Exton, PA.
• Why Go to All the Trouble? A Consultant's Perspective. S.L. Gibson, Ergonomics Applications, Salem, SC.