The federal government’s Canada Research Chairs program invests up to $311 million per year to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds. Chairholders are recognized to be national and international experts in the fields of engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities and social sciences. Brock University has 12 active Canada Research Chairs. This monthly series profiles the work, and lives, of Brock’s Chairholders.

At the centre of Michael Holmes’ workplace safety research are the people working on shop floors, at desks or in other on-the-job settings.

“The workers who come in to participate in our research studies reinforce the fact that these jobs are hard and that they’ve had friends and colleagues who have gotten injured,” says the Brock University Associate Professor of Kinesiology.

“They are passionate and curious; they want us to come up with solutions,” he says.

As Canada Research Chair in Neuromuscular Mechanics and Ergonomics, Holmes and his team examine how muscles in the hand, arm, shoulder and neck — known as the upper extremity — interact with signals from the brain and nervous systems during workplace tasks.

These tasks could include automotive assembly, manufacturing, cutting trees with chainsaws, typing on a keyboard or handling warehouse materials, among many others.

“We use our hands for just about every task imaginable, so understanding how we control movement and pinch and grasp tools is critical for workplace safety,” he says.

Holmes says three primary factors influence stress on muscles and joints: the load being manipulated, how many times a movement is repeated and the body’s posture during the movement.

These three factors are interdependent and need to be studied as a system. Posture influences strain on tissues, for example, and repetition can lead to fatigue and reduce capacity to perform tasks, he says.

But there are also other factors, such as extreme temperatures, that contribute to workplace injury, leading Holmes and his team to collaborate with a variety of experts in different disciplines.

To record and analyze workplace demands, Holmes’ Neuromechanics and Ergonomics Lab uses highly sophisticated technologies such as markerless motion capture cameras, electromyography and force measurement equipment including a unique “wristbot.”

A number of companies and organizations — including Airbus, the Ontario Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture, Niagara Health and General Motors — have asked Holmes and his team to analyze the physical demands of their workers’ tasks so that changes could be made to equipment and workplace procedures.

Holmes’ arboriculture work, for example, demonstrates that chainsaws and other tools marketed as reducing or eliminating vibrations don’t always do so when tested in the lab. His team is using this information to improve hand-arm vibration exposure during tool use by recommending personal protective equipment or optimal work-to-rest guidelines.

Other highlights of his research include:

• Highlighting custodial tasks with the greatest physical demand and providing recommendations for certain tasks to be performed at either the beginning or end of the shift.
• Surveying people working from home during COVID-19 lockdowns, which revealed more people shifted from using a desk and adjustable chair to laptops when working at home, which he says led to “increases in both severity and prevalence of discomfort.”
• Documenting gaming characteristics and exploring the effects of forearm muscle fatigue on gaming performance.

Holmes says his team’s research is increasingly focusing on the interaction between workers and various forms of robotic technologies. The team is also studying wearable technologies such as specialized harnesses, or exoskeletons, to assist in lifting heavy objects or augmenting grip.

Reflecting on his path to becoming a Canada Research Chair, Holmes says he is gratified by not only improving workers’ lives but also being able to train the next generation of researchers.

“I’m very proud of my students, some of whom have moved onto some awesome jobs where they continue to make an impact on worker health and safety,” he says. “Work shouldn’t hurt, and our team looks forward to collaborating with more industries in the future to positively impact the societal burden of workplace injuries.”