Faculty of Kinesiology

Annie Barnwell (BSCKIN ’02, MSESS ‘06)

I grew up in Fredericton with UNB a short walk from home. In high school, I loved science and especially biology. I decided to study in the faculty of Kinesiology as I knew that the work would be human biology based and provide me with a relevant background for my yet-undetermined next degree. As a Kin student, I thought I would eventually go onto become a physical or occupational therapist. In my final year, I took the Human Factors Ergonomics and Occupational Biomechanics courses and discovered ergonomics - the discipline that perfectly merged my interests in human performance and injury reduction. Following graduation with my BScKin, I worked as a Research Assistant at the Physiotherapy School at Dalhousie University investigating chronic pain and sitting behaviour, accruing a year work experience toward my Associate Ergonomist designation.

When I started a Master’s Degree in Occupational Biomechanics with Dr. Wayne Albert in 2003, also at UNB, I was fortunate to join a large network of world-class researchers with whom I’m still in regular contact. For my master’s thesis, I conducted applied research on cumulative shoulder loading demands during automotive assembly tasks. This opportunity had me collecting physical demands in several automotive assembly plants in Ontario, working closely with graduate students and faculty at the Universities of Waterloo and Windsor aligned with the same research project. The applied work completed during my graduate studies provided me with experience and contacts that lead me to my first job as a consulting Ergonomist in a heavy truck assembly plant in south-western Ontario. I’ve since worked for three ergonomics consultancies across Canada and the mid-western United States and I am currently a Senior Ergonomist and Team Lead for EWI Works Inc, Western Canada’s leading ergonomics consultancy.

I became a Canadian Certified Professional Ergonomist in 2010 and thirteen years later, there are fewer than 200 Canadian Certified Professional Ergonomists. I consider myself an Industrial Tourist, as I’ve been in more workplaces and seen more jobs than most people could imagine. I conduct interviews and collect data to learn how workers do their jobs so I can determine strength, mobility, cognitive, and environmental job demands for claims management.

During data collection for industrial assessments, I have climbed to the top of a wind turbine to collect physical demands for technicians (330’ vertical ladder), determined appropriate shackle heights for hanging chickens, reviewed designs for shipping containers and various assembly lines to ensure they will fit at least 75% of the population, interviewed homicide detectives regarding their physical and cognitive demands, collected data on forensic crime scene officers while they complete their own data collection.

Sometimes figuring out the best way to collect data is the hardest part of the job. Some jobs only have space for 1 person in a bucket or specific type of lift or crane. Some tasks within jobs I see are Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) or possibly hazardous to my own physical and psychological health, so I need to decide what I actually need to see and measure (and how to mock up what I cannot) to get my report or recommendations out. I am proud that the work I do provides employers with the tools to keep their employees safer.