by Ned Stoller Ned Stoller

Carpal Tunnel AT Work

Squeeze. Twist. Shake. Repeat.  Squeeze. Twist. Shake. Repeat.  Now what, pain and numbness you say?  The median nerve that controls a workers hand passes through a narrow tunnel in the wrist formed by bones and the carpal ligament.  High-force squeezing, sharply twisted wrists and vibrations of the hands irritate this median nerve inside the carpal tunnel.  Repeating these irritating motions can permanently restrict the carpal tunnel.  This is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome resulting in the disabling symptoms of numbness and pain.  There are practical techniques to reduce irritating motions without stopping the work.



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by Ned Stoller Ned Stoller

Folding Ladders Keep Workers Climbing

Can you lift a leg high enough to step up onto a bar stool?  Skilled tradesmen are forced to do that each time they climb onto heavy machinery.  Powerful machinery saves labor and allows skilled trade workers to complete difficult tasks safely and efficiently.  Workers with disabling illness or injury need these machines more than ever, but struggle to access the operator station.  We will discuss how skilled tradesmen use heavy machinery and the typical methods to climb into the operator station.  With custom designed folding ladders, skilled workers with disabling illness or injury can safely climb to the operator’s station and continue their careers.

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by Ned Stoller Ned Stoller

Disability = Unemployed; It Doesn’t Have to be the Case

Here are some highlights from the Bureau of Labor Statistics report:

All terrain mechanics creeper showing how a person who cannot crawl can sit low to the earth and roll around on rough terrain while doing mechanical work.-In 2014, 17.1% of persons with a disability were employed

-Unemployment among persons with disabilities is two times higher than the general population, regardless of education

-33% of workers with disabilities who are employed only work part time part time

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by Ned Stoller Ned Stoller

Disability Work Tools in the Beginning

Personal Assistive Technology Consultation has been one of the top 3 goals of DisabilityWorkTools.com from the beginning, because it is the conviction the Lord placed on my heart in the beginning.  In 1997 I was graduating from Purdue University with a degree in Agricultural Engineering and desired to work directly with people.  I did not want to sit in a cubicle designing pistons, I wanted to…

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by Ned Stoller Ned Stoller

Find A Trade That Matches Your Abilities

Ladder on semi truck trailer so workers can climb easier.

Is it reasonable for a person with severe visual impairments to operate high-tolerance machines to manufacture parts with a lathe and mill?  Would that be a good recommendation?

 

Skilled tradesmen with disabling conditions can search for the best and worst trades for their specific abilities.  The O*NET program is the nation’s primary source of occupational information. Central to the project is the O*NET database, containing information on hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptors.

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by Ned Stoller Ned Stoller

Mow your own grass with Hand Control Levers!

Lawnmower with hand lever on the foot pedal.Can’t get a job?  Work to your potential and mow your own yard!  Hand Control Levers allow workers with lower extremity impairments to control equipment foot pedals (such as brakes and clutch) by hand. Most brakes and clutches are controlled by foot pedals, preventing workers with lower extremity impairments to operate the equipment. Hand Control Levers are bolted onto foot pedals of lawnmowers.

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by Ned Stoller Ned Stoller

Yes, We Do Assistive Technology Assessments

Ned Stoller from Disability Work Tools performing a work site assistive technology assessment for a truck driver with an injured leg.Assistive technology assessments help individual workers determine which assistive technologies and strategies will improve their functioning on the job in spite of a disabling condition.  We assess: a) the required activities to successfully perform a job, b) the human factors of the worker, and c) the environment in which the work will be done.  Without an assistive technology assessment, a worker and his employer will not be aware of the many ways to make a tradesman’s worksite accessible to a person with a disability.

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