As an important means of bridging the gap between its students and lecturers, the College of Engineering (COLENG), has held its First College Lecture Series, themed: “The Ergonomic Paradigm: A Basis for Sustainable Development”, delivered by Dr. Olanrewaju Okunribido, a Health and Safety Expert from the Health and Safety Laboratory, Buxton, United Kingdom.
Declaring the programme open, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ololade Enikuomehin, who was represented by Professor Amidu Mustapha, Dean, College of Physical Sciences (COLPHYS) of the University, described the programme as a pure academic event, as he charged the College to sustain the spirit of the lecture for subsequent ones and wished them the best. The Acting Vice-Chancellor said the topic was carefully chosen and described Ergonomics as a paradigm in itself, because it affects every individual in a working environment while wishing participants a rewarding lecture.
The Guest Lecturer, Dr. Olanrewaju Okunribido, described Ergonomics as the process of “improving health and reducing hazards in a workplace”. He said that the operational aims, under the study of ergonomics, were to engender a better working society, advance knowledge of relevant health and safety issues, prevent deaths, injury and ill-health in workplace and, hence, help organisations find and control hazards. “Ergonomics is more than a science to be studied in the University, but a way to push the world forward, through improving and promoting health of the people by reducing the hazards associated with systems and machines, to improve quality standard in work places by understanding health and
Shedding light on the human factor and Ergonomics, Dr. Okunribido said that “Ergonomics has a great deal to do with understanding its domain such as social domain, psychological domain and physical domain, which are interrelated”. According to him, the relation, as quoted, involves human and work, while he cited two agreeable approaches, which suggest that work should be designed, so that it is suitable for human workers and that environment should be made to be safe, healthy and conducive to perform tasks. He further called for stakeholders to inculcate safety measures in places of works, while the safety and health professionals should ensure a safer and more efficient working environment, ensure that things are made to fit people, help managers to stop people getting hurt, carry out research about how and why people get hurt and know people’s abilities, behaviours and differences.
Dr. Okunribido identified human factor hazards to include psychological factors, such as work-life balance, perception and relationship; social and organisational factors, which comprise culture, incentives and morale and the physical factors to include air quality, lighting, noise and thermal. Earlier, the Dean of COLENG, Professor Johnson Adewumi, had lauded the College Engineering graduates, noting that they were making FUNAAB proud wherever they were, promising that the College would keep up the spirit and would never let the lecture be the last.
The Dean, College of Plant Science and Crop Production (COPLANT), Professor Muftau Atayese, who stood in for the Dean, College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD), Professor Bolanle Akeredolu-Ale, congratulated the College and charged it to do more, as the lecture series had become a tradition among other Colleges in the past, but such a practice seemed to be fading away. The COLENG Lecture, which was held at the Postgraduate Auditorium, attracted a large number of students from the College in addition to academic staff members from the College, among others.