| A Primer on Hiring an Ergonomics Consultant
By James R.
Seils, CSP, CIE
What do you do when you realize your company has a
situation you lack the means to address in-house? You know doing nothing, or the wrong
thing, will definitely affect your company’s bottom line. You realize it’s time
to call in an expert.
Maybe you know somebody in the business, maybe you
don’t know anyone at all --- and even if you have worked with an ergonomics
consultant before, is there someone else who can better respond to your needs? In
this magazine there are advertisements for different consulting firms, big ones,
small ones, and those in-between--- but are any of them the right one for you? Using
the following guide will help you make that decision.
Define the scope of work
This is one of the most difficult steps, and one
that is often neglected before a phone call is made either to a known consultant or to a
blind ad. Not doing this is very often one of the primary reasons you can wind up with
less than good results.
Start with a blank sheet of paper and as
precisely as possible write down your understanding of the situation, exactly what the
end result is you want to achieve, and anything you think should be included in the
process. This should be your starting point for discussion with a
prospective consultant.
One of the first questions a consultant should ask a
prospective client is ... Do you have a scope of work? ... because
until this is defined a consultant does not know whether or not the skill-set and
experience of their employees and the process they employ are a good match for what you
want accomplished.
Skills needed in addition to technical
expertise
Ergonomics encompasses a broad range of subject
matter, but just because an ergonomics consultant has technical expertise does not
necessarily mean that person is the right one to do the job for you. For you to
fully realize your goals, give careful consideration to their: style and methodology;
training expertise; and effective communication in written reports.
Style and methodology
To choose the right ergonomics consultant, it is
important you determine if their style and methodology are harmonious with yours and will
mesh well with your organization. Have the consultant explain the process he
will employ to accomplish your project.
Communicating the extent of involvement you want to
have will assist the consultant in developing his plan to work with you. A good
consultant should offer to involve you as much in the process as you want to be.
To a professional consultant, recognizing problems
and addressing solutions is, in a sense, the routine part of the job. However, the
ability to effectively communicate that information to you and your staff so the end
result becomes an integral part of your company’s culture, making a positive
contribution to work performance, job satisfaction, and company profitability, is what
separates the really good consultant from the rest of the pack.
Training Expertise
Just because someone has a good technical
background in ergonomics does not make them a good trainer. When a prospective
client asks me to provide ergonomics training, I normally have two questions to ask
immediately:
First, what do you want your staff to
learn they do not already know? Second, what new skills do
you want those who take the class to be able to use as a result of attending the training
session?
In order to put together the right training program,
both the client and the consultant need to understand what the group currently knows, as
well as what knowledge you want added to this foundation when training is completed.
Do you want your staff to attend a lecture just for
general knowledge? Do you want hands-on training where your staff is actually
involved doing projects so when the instructor leaves your staff will be able to apply a
defined set of newly acquired skills? Do you want a combination of both or something
else altogether?
Ask the consultant what their preferred
training style is... lecture, demonstration, interactive working off the questions and
responses from those in the class, hands-on involving class participation in projects, or
some other method. How does this match with your needs and expectations?
If you want to make sure those who attend training
can actually apply the skills they have learned, one of the key questions to ask
a consultant is whether or not they provide validation of the training. Can
the instructor verify that the people who took the class actually understand and can apply
the material?
Request a syllabus of the material to be covered so
you can review it and make appropriate suggestions.
Effective communication in written reports
It is really critical to obtain a sample report from
a prospective consultant to determine the acceptability both of their written
communication skills, and equally important, their style and methodology of presentation.
A report should be focused on whatever you hire a consultant to do, and most
importantly, be presented in a manner understandable to the audience level that is going
to read and use it.
If you want a report that is presented simply with
lots of pictures that easily explains what the problems are ... ask for it. If you want a
report with as much statistical information as possible ... ask for it. If you want
vendors names and phone numbers, concept drawings, product information ... ask for it. If
you need different kinds of reports to be addressed to different audiences ... tell them.
Conversely, if there’s something about a
consultant’s report style you do not like or want ... you need to tell them that
also.
A consultant should try to adapt to your
specific wants and needs, and if they cannot or will not do that, then a good match does
not exist, and you should look elsewhere for assistance.
It is critical that you communicate your
organization’s needs to a prospective consultant, as it will assist both of you in
establishing a successful relationship, and you obtaining a written report tailored to
your specifications.
Credentials
Consultants in the field of ergonomics come from a
variety of different backgrounds, such as engineering, architecture, psychology, medicine,
kinesiology, human factors, biomechanics, etc. By asking a consultant for their
education, experience, references and other credentials, you will be in a better position
to decide if this is an appropriate background for the project you have in mind.
What credentials tell you is that someone has a
baseline of technical knowledge and experience to draw from when approaching and
addressing a situation --- but again, just because someone has credentials does not mean
they are the right consultant for you.
What I think is an even more important consideration
is whether or not the consultant works full time in this field. Ergonomics is a specialty
area that requires full time diligence to keep up with new research reports, professional
journals, hardware and software and other new technologies. Someone working full
time as an ergonomics consultant is going to be more current on the laws, techniques,
alternative solutions, product purveyors, and options available. Someone who just
incorporates ergonomics into their routine as necessary cannot do this.
The primary ergonomic credentials today are CIE
(Certified Industrial Ergonomist), CPE (Certified Professional Ergonomist), and CPEE
(Certified Professional Ergonomic Evaluator). Generally speaking, people with these
credentials are probably working full time in the field.
In addition, there are other designations such as
CSP (Certified Safety Professional), CIH (Certified Industrial Hygienist), and COHN
(Certified Occupational Health Nurse), etc. Each of these designations should indicate
that a person has a baseline of knowledge and experience in the area of ergonomics.
Budget
Let’s face it, if you are running a business
there is a budget. Everybody loves a bargain, and wants the best they can get for
the lowest price. However, most people also know that lowest price is sometimes not the
bargain it seems to be.
Consultants want your business because that’s
how they make their livelihood. Generally they will try to give you the best service
and price they can because they realize not only do you have the option of competitive
bidding, but they prefer to establish long term relationships with customers if
that’s possible, and such relations require an honesty whereby you the customer feel
you’re getting real value for price paid.
A consultant should ask you if you have a
targeted budget range so his proposal to you is as realistic as possible. Therefore,
it is in your best interest to communicate this to the prospective consultant, especially
if you have a not to exceed price. Many times there are alternate ways to accomplish
the same function, whether that be analyzing a work process, doing training, or performing
some other activity. A good consultant will try to work within the parameters you
set, and if they cannot do that will tell you so neither of you wastes the other’s
time.
What if you’re really not sure?
One good option to always consider is breaking
whatever your project is into smaller pieces and running a small pilot so you can assess
your comfort level of the way the consultant performs and the results achieved. This
also provides you with the option of making any changes before proceeding further.
If it’s training you are interested in, have
one class put on so you can evaluate it. If you have a number of work activities to
be analyzed, have a consultant evaluate one or two of them and assess the results before
agreeing to anything else.
By starting small you have an opportunity to build a
solid foundation for a long term working relationship, as the consultant’s input to
you should be continually adding value to your bottom line. |
