WorkPace

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Wellnomics Ltd

Scientifically validated ergonomic assessment software provides a new level of protection against computer-related injuries

At the 16th World Congress on Ergonomics - IEA 2006, held in Maastricht, The Netherlands between 10-14 July, Wellnomics Ltd (formerly Niche Software), maker of the popular WorkPace Breaks & Exercises software, is launching a new ‘whole health’ approach to workplace ergonomics with the introduction of Wellnomics Risk Management software.

Wellnomics® is the world’s first and only scientifically validated ergonomics software for the prevention of computer related injuries in office workers. This new solution builds on the success of the company’s popular WorkPace Breaks & Exercises software, which is used by over 1 million office workers worldwide to enhance productivity and create positive and sustainable behaviour change towards health and safety.

Wellnomics Director Dr Rob van Nobelen says: “Wellnomics Risk Management is not only the first product to cover all the known risk factors for RSI it is also the only one that is scientifically validated. It greatly reduces the workload for health and safety staff by using a new unique combination of direct measurement of computer use and user self-assessment.'

By allowing employees to take personal responsibility for their own health and safety, Wellnomics Risk Management helps streamline office ergonomics programs. The product covers posture and workstation assessment and also measures many other contributing factors to office injuries such as stress, existing symptom levels, levels of computer use, and work/break profiles. The result is accurate identification of high risk users within the organization, and a list of the top risk factors that need to be addressed to reduce risks to safe levels.

The advantages of adopting a Wellnomics work environment include:

Reduced injury rates
Increased productivity
Reduced stress levels
Reduced absenteeism
Reduced spend on workstation assessments, and
Ensured compliance with health and safety obligations.

Developed in conjunction with a team of international ergonomic experts at the TNO Quality of Life research institute in the Netherlands, Wellnomics Risk Management is based on a three year research project analyzing data from over 50 scientific papers and studies on office ergonomics.

Marjolein Douwes, TNO Lead Researcher and Project Manager for the Wellnomics development and validation projects, says: “Wellnomics doesn’t only look at the ergonomics of the workstation, it also considers the other risk factors known to cause RSI, such as psychosocial and stress related factors. Using extensive analysis of the scientific literature on the relationships between risk factors and the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders, we designed and tested a set of algorithms into Wellnomics that calculate the risk levels for each employee. Wellnomics Risk Management is a unique and extremely valuable tool that large organizations should consider implementing if they wish to achieve a healthy working environment for their computer users.'

With Wellnomics Risk Management organizations are able to:

Directly measure computer use exposure and work/break profiles
Identify the computer users at highest risk of RSI
Be proactive and target limited resources to high risk users before injuries occur
Identify the top risk factors that need to be addressed within the organization
Provide reports to managers on risk levels within their departments, and
Automatically record all remedial actions required and completed.

John van Hooft, Director of Wellnomics Netherlands distributor ErgoDirect, says: “Wellnomics will have a positive financial impact on organizations, as it helps to predict and prevent costly work related injuries by alerting the high risk users. This is particularly valuable in large organizations where Health & Safety resources are stretched, as it enables officers to take a proactive approach to health and safety by spending less time reacting to injuries and more time preventing them.'

“Wellnomics is the essential tool for companies whose goal is to become more healthy, vital, and profitable, with more productive office workers. With a good communications plan, management support and optimal functional configuration, ErgoDirect is convinced the ROI for Wellnomics will take less than 12-24 months from implementation. Not only will Wellnomics benefit the 4% of employees with reported work related injuries, it will also enable the remaining 96% of your employees with no reported injuries to become 10-30% more productive by achieving more healthy and vital working habits,' he says.

The software monitors computer use on each office worker’s PC then combines this data on actual computer use patterns with data from a set of online questionnaires covering posture and workstation ergonomics, symptoms and stress. A personalized risk report then provides feedback to each office worker, with a list of recommendations and advice on how to reduce their risks. Wellnomics empowers staff to take responsibility for their own health and safety, as it teaches them how to avoid injury by incorporating scientifically proven recommendations such as correct workstation adjustment, taking enough breaks, and improving posture.

About Wellnomics
Founded in 1997, Wellnomics Ltd (formerly Niche Software) is a leader in the health and safety field, with many thousands of clients across North America, Australasia and Europe and over 1 million software product licenses in use worldwide. Clients include Global 1000 organizations as Philips, Boeing, Chevron, Shell, BP, ING Bank, KPMG, PWC, Pacific Gas and Electric, Cap Gemini, Nike, and Eli Lilly.

Wellnomics® provides an integrated suite of software tools to enable organizations to effectively manage the health and safety of large numbers of office workers. Our products are designed to prevent injuries, improve productivity, and minimize lost work time, and are underpinned by extensive research, led by Directors Dr Robert van Nobelen and Dr Kevin Taylor.

At any one time Wellnomics is involved with numerous scientific studies on computer use in the office environment around the world. These activities allow Wellnomics to make a measurable improvement to health and safety outcomes and provide clients with tangible returns on investment. For more information visit www.wellnomics.com.