2021 Ergo Cup Virtual Competition FAQ
The following FAQs address common questions the Ergo Cup Committee receives during the registration
process and feedback received after the conference. We value your opinion and consider each
suggestion for opportunities to improve the Ergo Cup competition.
(Click here to download a PDF version of this page.)
What are the expectations of
competing in the 2021 Ergo Cup®
Virtual
Competition?
Finalists accepted to compete in the 2021 Ergo Cup® Virtual Competition will have a 15-minute time slot (10-minutes to
present + 5-minutes of Q&A) via an interactive “Zoom Meeting” with the
judges 1 to 3 weeks prior to the on-site conference. Specific dates and times
will be scheduled with each of the finalists. More details about what to
present and how will be sent out to the finalists once they have received
notification of acceptance. However, the teams should plan to highlight the
primary judging criteria: (1) Innovation, (2) Simplicity, (3) Business Gains /
ROI, (4) Ergonomic Risk Reduction, and for Program Improvement Initiatives, (5) Measurable
Performance Objectives, and (6) Sustainability. Each finalist will also be
expected to create a short brochure and a video that is a maximum of 3 minutes
to showcase their Ergo Cup project. In addition to use by the Ergo Cup Judges,
these items will be the primary mechanism for the conference registrants to
learn about your Ergo Cup entry as they vote for the Ergo Excellence
Awards.
If
AEC is a hybrid event and the Ergo Cup Competition is virtual, can our Ergo Cup team still attend the on-site conference
and showcase their project?
Yes – Absolutely! Teams are welcome and
encouraged to attend the “on-site” conference to display their booth, network
with others, and be present for the announcement of the winners during the live
conference. However, they are NOT
required to attend, since the competition and judging will be done completely virtually during the weeks
prior to the on-site conference.
I have heard that the return on investment (ROI)
description is very important to a successful Ergo Cup entry. Can you provide
specific guidelines that the Ergo Cup Committee is looking for?
Yes, it is and the ROI is of great interest to the conference registrants who will
stop by your booth or see
your project’s video submission virtually. ROI should
consider both direct injury cost savings (medical and lost time) but also
productivity, efficiency, quality,
and performance improvements. Ideally, the intervention should be in place at
least a year and those savings should be actual and not potential. There is
great flexibility in how you present your ROI but please be as specific as you
can.
Our company has an internal competition for ergo projects.
How do we need to enter?
If you have an internal competition and are submitting an application in the
"Team Driven Solutions" or "Engineering/Ergonomist Driven
Workplace Solutions" category, it MUST be put into the category specific
to internal competitions. NOTE: Regardless of whether the submitted project
competed in the company's internal competition, if your site was eligible to
compete in the company's internal completion, your project will be placed in
this category since internal resources are available that may give these
projects an unfair advantage over companies without internal competitions and
resources. There currently is not a specific category for internal
competitions in the "Ergonomics Program Improvement Initiatives"
categories.
Can an intervention or a portion of an engineering
intervention in any Ergo Cup category be a purchased piece of equipment from a
vendor?
For the most part no. Remember, the Ergo Cup is intended to award
"Innovation." The Ergo Cup Committee will carefully review each
registration to ensure that the solution is indeed simple, creative, and
innovative and the result of the work of the team or engineer/ergonomist. There
are many examples of vendor-based solutions with great ROI results but the
differentiation of the Ergo Cup is to showcase the excellent interventions
designed and developed "in-house."
We have totally automated our production line thereby
eliminating ergonomic risks. Will this project be accepted into the engineering
category?
No. While we applaud eliminating risks, to be an Ergo Cup entry you need to
still have employees involved in the process. For example, purchasing a robot
to stack pallets is a great solution but not one that would be considered for
the Ergo Cup.
We are only a small company. Do we really have a chance
to win the Ergo Cup?
Yes! Size of the company is not an issue to the judging committee and small
employers have won an Ergo Cup in the past. It is all about the project.
If we submit an entry into the Ergo Cup, does that mean we are
automatically accepted as
a finalist?
No. The Ergo Cup Committee carefully reviews all the submissions and selects
those that we feel best
meet the criteria set forth on the website and in the recorded webinars as finalists. Each year a
number of entries do not make the cut.
Who are the Ergo Cup Committee members and can I become a
member?
Absolutely! The Ergo Cup Committee is made up of volunteers selected by the
Ergo Cup committee chairs. The only prerequisite is that committee members be
experienced ergonomics practitioners. Each request is considered individually.
There are no degree or certification requirements to be a member of the
committee.
Who are the Ergo Cup judges and can I become an
Ergo Cup judge?
Judges of the Ergo Cup®
Competition are Ergo Cup Committee members who are also willing to judge
the finalists (virtually for 2021). Judges are approved by the Ergo Cup Chairs. Like the Ergo
Cup committee members, judges must be experienced ergo practitioners. An Ergo
Cup committee member or judge will not evaluate an Ergo Cup registration or
judge a finalist from their own company or from a project in which
they have served as a consultant. If you are interested in being a judge, seek
out the Ergo Cup co-chairs or a member of the Ergo Cup Committee.
Will there be time for our Ergo Cup team to take
advantage of the educational sessions at the conference?
Yes. For the 2021 Ergo
Cup® Virtual Competition, all of the
presentations to judges and judging decision-making will be completed in the
weeks prior to the on-site conference. And remember, this year, Ergo Cup teams
are encouraged, but NOT required to setup a booth at the on-site conference. If teams decide to have a booth at the
on-site conference, they will receive a schedule with the dedicated Exhibit
Hours in which they should plan to have coverage at the booth. However, during non-dedicated Exhibit Hours,
team members may attend educational sessions.
We are considering some "creative" enhancements
to our booth
set-up. Are we restricted to what enhancements we can make?
Yes. While creativity is encouraged there are limits. If you decide to have an on-site booth, set-up is limited to a
10' X 10' space with 3' side panels and an 8' back wall. Exhibits and display
fixtures cannot obstruct sight lines of neighboring exhibits. 8' is allowed
only in the rear half of the booth space, with a 4' height restriction imposed
on all materials in the remaining space forward to the aisle. It is our goal to
provide each booth full visibility from the aisles. If an Ergo Cup booth
interferes with this sightline, the offending portion of the exhibit may need
to be removed.
We are considering offering a gift raffle to attract
attendees to our booth. Are we allowed to hold raffle events in our booth?
We discourage any and all booth events or activities that might be perceived by
other Ergo Cup finalists as an
advantage by one finalist over another. A
raffle might be construed as such an advantage so no. This is more of an issue
with the Ergo Excellence Awards which are selected by the conference registrants more than
the Ergo Cup Award winner selected by the judges.
My innovative product is commercially available for sale.
Can we submit this as an Ergo Cup entry?
Commercially available products are not in the spirit of the Ergo Cup and do
not qualify for the competition. The Ergo Cup Competition provides an exciting
opportunity for companies to highlight their successful ergonomic solution and
promotes the development of an ergonomics culture in companies.
Our ergonomics solution is going through the "patent
pending" process. When should the application for the Ergo Cup® Competition be submitted?
We recommend that any potential Ergo Cup application not be submitted until the "patent" process is
complete. Part of the competition process is sharing your solution with the
conference registrants and
judges. If this interferes with the potential "patent"
of your solution, we suggest you submit your application after the patent
process is complete.
Social Media – Can our organization promote our Ergo Cup
booth via social media?
Yes, but please do so ethically. Promoting the conference, the Ergo Cup® Competition, and trying
to attract attendees to your booth is good use of social media. However, please
refrain from any negative or derogatory posts about fellow contestant
companies.
If you have additional questions, please contact IISE at cs@iise.org.