Can AI Replace Ergonomists? What You Need to Know Before You Buy the Hype

Okay, so AI is popping up everywhere, right? But what does this for us in the ergonomics world? This episode takes a look at these new AI-powered risk assessment tools – are they a game-changer or just another shiny object?

We'll break down the costs (spoiler: they can be a bit of a surprise) and what these tools can actually do. We'll also look at how some businesses are already seeing results.

We'll also talk about how your hard-saught after expertise still is invaluable. This isn't about robots taking over; it's about figuring out how this tech fits into what we do. So, if you're just curious or seriously thinking about AI, be sure to listen to this episode.

Are you a healthcare professional curious about how office ergonomics assessments could fit into your services? I’ve got you covered with some valuable (and free!) resources at www.ergonomicshelp.com/free-training.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey there.

(00:00):
Welcome to the Business ofErgonomics podcast.
Today in the show we're divinginto a pivotal topic that is
potentially reshaping ourergonomics field.
Let's dive into artificialintelligence.
Welcome to the Business ofErgonomics podcast.
I'm your host, Darcy Jeremy.
I'm a board certifiedprofessional agonist with over

(00:22):
15 years of experiencedelivering ergonomics programs
to employers of all differenttypes.
In this podcast, I share whatother healthcare professionals
are already doing and being withergonomics assessments.
And how to land those clientsthat you dream of.
Without further ado, let's jumpinto this episode right now.

(00:45):
one of my favorite things to dois dive into the issues that's
really taken a toll on ourprofession.
One of the things that we arelooking at today is artificial
intelligence.
Are you an early adopter of AIergonomics risk assessment
tools?
Or are you more on thesidelines?

(01:06):
Just trying to figure out ifthis is the right tool for you,
if it's worth its cost.
Hello?
Have you seen how much theseare?
We're gonna look at that moreand whether or not this is a
good financial decision andbusiness decision for you to
move on with.
There's a lot of angles that Iwanna bring to the table here
and what this means for you andyour future.

(01:26):
Imagine your practice five yearsfrom now.
Will AI be a silent partner orwill you be playing catch up?
What's driving your projection?
I want you to really consider Nomatter where your role has been.
In the ergonomics field, nomatter what you'd be doing, I
think we can all agree that theshift is undeniable.

(01:50):
And this isn't theoretical, it'simpacting client expectations
and service delivery.
AI is now capable of analyzingmovement and ergonomics with
precision thanks to computervision and sensor technology.
Academic rigor reinforces thistrend with studies applied
ergonomics that is validatingAI's efficacy.

(02:14):
Now, when I'm looking at ai, Iam considering two aspects here.
Is AI a revolutionary tool or alooming threat?
This is straight up a crucialmoment for ergonomics
professionals.
And we're gonna look at variousaspects to what's going on with
AI ergonomics risk assessmentstoday, and how to navigate it.

(02:37):
Before we dive in to the contextfor today, I want you to take a
moment to reflect here.
What's your initial gut reactionto AI in ergonomics?
Why are you considering this?
Let's ground ourselves in thecurrent landscape.
A recent report from theInsurance Journal highlights the
rapid adoption of AI safetysolutions by small businesses,

(03:02):
showcasing real ROI throughreduced injury rates and
increased efficiency.
This isn't just theoretical,it's impacting our clients'
decision making..
I had every intention to take adeep dive into all of the AI
ergonomics risk assessment toolsout there.

(03:23):
I was so naive.
I thought all of these companieswere gonna be posting all their
value propositions and what theybring to the table and the
ergonomics risk assessment toolsthat they use and their cost on
their website.
So it's easy for people like meergonomics consultants to come
and compare and contrast betweena bunch of different ones to

(03:47):
make the best solution for whattheir needs are.
And much of this information waslocked down, so it was very hard
for me to give you a really goodapproach to each of these tools
because there was a lot of tradesecrets and some use things like
NIOSH and Liberty Mutual Snacktables, but others use their own

(04:08):
tools that they made up.
The best thing that I can do foryou here is that give you some
broad.
Conclusions that I came to afterlooking at a bunch of different
tools.
So it can give you some contextto when you're looking at these
tools because I think that thebest thing for you to do is to
actually go out there and get asmany demos as you possibly can

(04:30):
on these tools.
But what I did see is that someof these tools are getting
customers really awesomeresults.
However, take that as a grain ofsalt because hello, these
companies are marketingthemselves.
Of course, they're gonna saythat they're getting customers
awesome results.
Some have certified professionalagonists on staff.
Many are being used bywell-known organizations.

(04:55):
The vast majority just use yoursmartphone and don't require any
sensors.
The prices are legit, lockeddown.
They're not easily found.
But what I did see is that theyare way more expensive than I
was expecting, even though Iknew that they were gonna be
expensive because I talk toergonomics consultants all the

(05:17):
time.
It might be extremely valuableat scaling your ergonomic
services, but that wouldprobably mean you have to charge
your clients higher pricesbecause using these tools are
almost hundreds of dollars forevery assessment.
Which is a lot of money.
So it just needs to be in ourbottom line that these are being
paid for Some of these tools.

(05:39):
Seem to be marketed toergonomics and health and safety
experts, but there's a lot thataren't.
It's clear that they're notbeing straightforward with the
types of ergonomics riskassessment tools that they're
using in their software.
Some might mention NIOSH or theLiberty Mutual tables, but
others are saying that they'reusing tools that they develop

(06:00):
themselves, my point, if we aregonna be marketing this to
ergonomics professionals, isthat we wanna use peer reviewed,
reliable tools so that we can begrounded and be sure that what
we're doing is based on peerreviewed literature.
If you're interested in any ofthis, I'm strongly encouraging

(06:21):
you.
To get out there and get ondemos or trials, maybe you can
work out an arrangement formarketing reviews or see if you
can do some one-offs to see ifthis is something that would add
value to what you're doing as anergonomics professional,
especially if you have a bigproject coming up And you have
many ergonomics assessments thatyou have to do.

(06:44):
You can imagine how much of atime saver this will be if in a
minute, a dozen ergonomicanalysis for you instead of the
hours and hours that might berequired for you to analyze
ergonomics risk.
So something to consider.
If it's gonna give you a majortime savings and not burn you

(07:05):
out, it might be worth the cost.
Yeah, but remember, I reallywanna encourage you to increase
your prices so that it doesn'tburn you out with thinking about
how much this is going to be onyour bottom line.
So if this is going to removebottlenecks in your ergonomics
assessment process, or maybeyou're just starting out in your
ergonomics career, would this besomething that you could

(07:26):
actually use to teach you how todo an ergonomics assessment?
I don't know.
I have some questions for you toconsider.
And going forward to decidewhether or not AI tools might be
something that would be valuablefor you, honestly.
Do you think that you can use AIgenerated data to enhance your
assessments and provide morecomprehensive solutions?

(07:48):
Do you think that these canstreamline or even scale your
services without sacrificingquality so you could help more
businesses and help more peoplewithout burning out?
What would be your bottom lineif you ended up using one of
these tools?
Would you need to increase yourprices?
One more thing, you couldconsider using AI software to

(08:08):
validate your ergonomics riskassessments.
And that could technically bringmore value to your services and
make you more competitive.
The main thing that we'relooking at with this is that we
have an opportunity to adapt andthrive in this new landscape.
So think about this.
You offer specialized trainingon how to interpret AI generated

(08:32):
ergonomic data, awesome.
This positions you as an expertin both traditional ergonomics
and AI powered solutions.
You could provide consulting onthe implementation of AI
ergonomic systems.
Small businesses will needguidance on integrating these
tools into their workflows andalways focus on that human

(08:55):
touch.
You definitely wanna providepersonalized, in-depth
assessments and training that AIcan't replicate.
For instance, when I startedthis episode today, I was
talking about how AI and inperson REBA scores were very
similar and very accurate.
However, the solutions that AIcame up with are probably gonna

(09:19):
be a little bit different thanwhat a seasoned ergonomics
professional in this report.
The solutions talked aboutposture and positioning.
An experienced ergonomicsprofessional would look at
first, engineering solutions,administrative solutions.
Then third down the line, ifthere's no suitable engineering

(09:40):
or administrative solutions,would then look at behavioral or
posture solutions.
Sit up straight, stretch, allthat good stuff.
But that should never be themain solution.
And what this ergonomics reportin the journal said is that the
main solution was behaviorsolutions.
AI is not the stage ofreplicating.

(10:02):
It doesn't seem like the toolsthat they have are bringing the
context and the experience thatus experienced ergonomics
consultants can bring to thetable.
So they might do a really goodat identifying the ergonomics
risk and where it is, however,really valuable insights and
solutions that we have, that'san opportunity for you.

(10:23):
It is such a cool time to bealive in the ergonomics field.
We are witnessing a paradigmshift.
Things are a lot different.
Even the inventions ofsmartphones was absolutely
revolutionary to ergonomicsassessments because it made it
so much easier.
A video recorder to a computer.
Do you know how long that took?

(10:45):
So many steps.
It is such a breeze to do that.
So really, software analysis viaAI just makes sense.
However, as much as this makessense, there needs to be a
business case for this.
Does it make sense to where youare as an ergonomics consultant?
Have you done your own duediligence?

(11:05):
if there's an opportunity foryou to actually get down and
dirty with these AI riskassessment tools before an
opportunity presents itself,would you be able to do the
future for us as ergonomicsconsultants is obviously still
gonna be there.
I actually think that theremight be even more of a future
for us now because the heavylifting and marketing ergonomics

(11:27):
is gonna be done by these AIrisk assessment companies.
If you can look at thosecomplimentary services and
really move with these AIcompanies to provide value to
them and their customers, foryou to interpret the solutions
and provide immense value tothese clients.

(11:51):
One more thing.
Did you know that my programaccelerate the business of
ergonomics is designed to breakdown barriers and give you
instant access to the latest andmost relevant findings in
ergonomics.
Every single month deliveredstraight to your fingertips.
If you wanna dive into whatAccelerate is, if it's a good

(12:11):
match for you, all you gotta dois go to the show notes and
click through and see if it's agood decision for you right now
in your life.
Until next time, I hope you havea great day and an even better
week.