Conti aims to keep older employees through ergonomics

ERJ staff report (DS)

Hannover, Germany -- Continental said it is studying the workplaces of 25,000 employees in Germany, in order to adapt the jobs to the varying needs of the staff, with the aim of extending the employment period of experienced staff before they retire. The programme goes under the motto, “Ergonomics at the workplace instead of early retirement”,

A press release from Conti said demographic changes mean that the average age of employees in German companies has been increasing for years.

With the help of an analysis instrument, the company draws up a precise profile of every production workplace. The new “workload documentation system” records for instance physical strain such as the weight of loads to be moved and the necessary posture, as well as concentration requirements, lighting conditions, noise, vibrations, draughts and temperatures. The results are presented as a traffic liht system - green for good but a red light means that it is not an age-diverse workplace.

Younger employees stand to benefit from this just as much as the older ones do,” says Dr. Peter Dolfen, head of corporate Health, Industrial Hygiene, Safety and Security (HISS) at Continental. The number of production employees aged 55 to 65 will triple to roughly 25 percent by 2015. Dr. Dolfen: “The next step on the agenda is to implement the workload documentation system throughout Europe and then worldwide”

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Press release from Continental