Workplace accidents and errors cost organizations hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and the injured workers and their families endure considerable financial and emotional suffering. It's obvious that increasing employee health and safety pays. The accumulating evidence shows that investing in occupational health and safety results in improved financial and social responsibility performance. There are extensive country differences and wide occupational differences in the incidence of accidents and errors. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that every year there are 2.2 million fatal and 270 million non-fatal accidents or occupational diseases worldwide. Occupational Health and Safety looks at the research into what causes accidents and errors in the workplace. In line with other titles in the series, Occupational Health and Safety emphasizes the psychological and behavioral aspects of risk in organizations. It highlights how organizations differ in their health and safety performance, with case studies throughout and best practices. Key elements focus on: employee selection and training, fostering employee understanding, participation and engagement in health and safety matters, developing a health and safety culture at organizational and group/work unit levels, communicating and reinforcing safe workplace practices and bench-marking one's organization against the industry leaders. The contributors to this volume come from various countries, reflecting unique interest and knowledge in particular areas.

In the fifteen years since the publication of Occupational Ergonomics: Theory and Applications significant advances have been made in this field. These advances include understanding the impact of ageing and obesity on workplace, the role of ergonomics in promoting healthy workplaces and healthy life styles, the role of ergonomic science in the design of consumer products, and much more. The caliber of information and the simple, practical ergonomics solutions in the second edition of this groundbreaking resource, though, haven’t changed. See What’s New in the Second Edition: Enhanced coverage of ergonomics in the international arena Emerging topics such as Healthcare Ergonomics and economics of ergonomics Coverage of disability management and psychosocial rehabilitation aspects of workplace and its ergonomics implication Current ergonomics solutions from "research to practice" Synergy of healthy workplaces with healthy lifestyles Impact of physical agents on worker health/safety and its control Additional problems with solutions in the appendix The book covers the fundamentals of ergonomics and the practical application of those fundamentals in solving ergonomic problems. The scope is such that it can be used as a reference for graduate students in the health sciences, engineering, technology and business as well as professional practitioners of these disciplines. Also, it can be used as a senior level undergraduate textbook, with solved problems, case studies, and exercises included in several chapters. The book blends medical and engineering applications to solve musculoskeletal, safety, and health problems in a variety of traditional and emerging industries ranging from the office to the operating room to operations engineering.