MHealthy kicks off month of employee grants, awards

Michigan Healthy Community's Ergonomics Awareness program launched its 2nd Annual Grants and Awards Program today, a month earlier than last year, to support October as National Ergonomics Month.

(Courtesy Michigan Healthy Community)

In hopes of increasing awareness of self-help tools, the program also offers faculty and staff chances to win prizes when they complete an online ergonomic tutorials during this month.

Ergonomics is the science of fitting the workplace to the worker, often resulting in the promotion of safety, health, productivity and job satisfaction. With that goal in mind, the team is helping one department at a time by offering funds to those who want to make their surroundings safer but need financial assistance, and also by recognizing units that have already implemented solutions that reduce ergonomic risk factors.

"The success of last year's grants and awards programs exceeded our expectations," says Suzanne Bade, Ergonomics Awareness program chair and senior ergonomic consultant for MWorks Occupational Health Services. "We awarded $45,000 to units in need of funds to implement ergonomic solutions and numerous University departments were recognized for their outstanding efforts in reducing ergonomic risk factors."

The Ergo Grant Incentive Program offers departments up to $15,000 to purchase equipment, train staff or redesign work processes to improve employee comfort and safety. Entries will be judged based on the significance of the ergonomic issue, the feasibility of the project and the anticipated outcome.

Departments that have already implemented ergonomic solutions can apply for the Effective Ergonomic Solutions Award. To be eligible, solutions must have been implemented between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007.

The Ergonomics Awareness Program also is giving away MHealthy gift certificates and prizes via weekly drawings throughout October. To enter, faculty and staff must review one or more of the online ergonomic tutorials at MHealthy.umich.edu and complete a brief survey. Drawing participants must have a Kerberos password.

Applications for the grant incentive and awards programs are available at the MHealthy Web site, MHealthy.umich.edu, and must be submitted Oct. 1-Nov. 30. Grant and award recipients will be announced in spring 2008.