Times are displayed in (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) Change

Reducing injuries in Fire Departments through Improved Ergonomic Truck Design By William Lenharth, Ph.D., CHFP

Description:

One of the most frequent tasks that fire fighters perform involve working with their fire trucks. Handling many types and kinds of equipment. This interaction can cause many types of injuries due to putting the firefighter in an awkward posture or requiring poor gripping or load bearing strains. Every item in the truck’s inventory is checked, inspected, to guarantee complete readiness. The interaction between firefighters and their vehicle item storage facilities causes considerable injuries. It has been reported that in the years 2019-2023, over $ 7,473,547.00 has been spent on medical injuries in 3338 claims, involving these tasks.

Observing seemly simple tasks can lead to decisions that improve worked performance and health.

Fire fighters could expect injuries doing their emergency tasks, but many happen at the station doing simple activities.

Designing for the ergonmic/HF objectives proactively bsaves money and improves work performance.

Presenting Speaker

William Lenharth | University of New Hampshire

1967 AA Engr    Meramec Community College - St. Louis
1969 BS IE            St. Louis U.
1970-72 MS OR    21 semester hours – George Washington U
1974 MS ME         UNH
1978 Ph.D.           Engineering Systems Design UNH

Awards

1969 Outstanding Student in IE Presented by AIIE
1971 Citation for Outstanding Work in Cost Reduction - USN
1984 Outstanding Achievement Award - Prime Computer Users Group
1989, 1990, and 1991Outstanding Project performance award, Prime Computer, Inc.
1997 Outstanding Alumni Award, Missouri Junior College Association.
1998 Appointed an Honorary Firefighter of the Durham Fire Department.
2007 The “Brass Pole” award presented by the Durham Fire Department .
2008 An award of appreciation for support of the Durham Fire Department.
2009 Proclamation by the Governor of NH.
2009 Meritorious Service Award NH State Police.
2009 RCC Data Center Named in my honor.

Teaching

Manufacturing Processes 1974-76, UNH ME Department .
Database system design- WSBE at UNH 1978-1979.
Medusa CAD and AEC – UNH 1978-1988
Data and Network Systems Design ECE department 2002-2008.
Human Factors Engineering ECE department 2005-2014.