Jessica Ellison, MS, CPE, CSP, is an Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Client Account Director at Weston Solutions, Inc. (Weston), bringing more than 20 years of consulting experience across biotechnology, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, education, technology, construction, and infrastructure sectors. Jessica holds advanced degrees in biomedical and mechanical engineering and is dual certified as a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE) and Certified Safety Professional (CSP). She is recognized for her ability to integrate ergonomics, safety, and operational performance into practical, system-level solutions.
Throughout her career, Jessica has held regional leadership roles overseeing consulting operations, driving process improvement initiatives, and leading high‑performing, cross‑functional teams. She is known for her analytical approach, ability to translate complex challenges into actionable strategies, and her commitment to improving worker well‑being through thoughtful, data‑driven design.
Jessica is an active contributor to the professional EHS community. She has spoken at national conferences, including events hosted by the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and industry‑specific ergonomics and safety symposia. Her work has been featured in published articles focusing on ergonomics program development, risk reduction strategies, and the integration of human‑centered design into organizational systems. She has served in various positions for the San Francisco ASSP chapter and was previously elected as the Administrator of the Ergonomics Practice Specialty for ASSP.
2025 has been described as a turning point for ergonomics. What was the biggest shift in how organizations approached ergonomics in 2025?
One of the biggest changes has been a clear shift toward human-centered design under the principles of Industry 5.0. Instead of treating ergonomics as a box-checking exercise or a one-time assessment, organizations are beginning to build it into how new tools, systems, and processes are designed from the start. When companies introduce automation, software, or new equipment, the focus is now on making sure those technologies fit the people using them rather than expecting workers to adapt to systems that were not designed around real-world tasks or people.
This shift has changed how decisions are made in practice. More organizations are using participatory ergonomics, which means employees, engineers, safety teams, and ergonomists work together early in the design and rollout process or when redesign is needed. Workers share insight into how tasks are actually performed, where strain or confusion occurs, and what breaks down during daily operations. That input is then used to improve workstation layouts, task sequencing, user interfaces, and how work is divided between people and automation. The goal is to combine human strengths such as judgment, problem-solving, and adaptability with the speed and consistency of automated systems.
Worker well-being is also being recognized as directly connected to performance. Companies are increasingly aware that fatigue, physical strain, and poor usability affect productivity, quality, and reliability. To better understand these risks, many organizations are using tools like wearables, computer vision, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)–based task analysis to collect data on posture, movement, and workload. While these tools provide useful information, they do not fully capture the complexity of real work on their own.
This is where ergonomists continue to play a critical role. Technology can generate large amounts of data, but it still takes expert judgment to understand what those data mean in context. Ergonomists help validate findings, identify limitations, and translate insights into practical improvements such as equipment changes, process adjustments, and updated work practices that can be sustained over time. They also support change management by helping organizations introduce new technologies in ways that workers understand, accept, and use effectively. The result is a more balanced approach where technology supports people and people remain central to how systems perform.
Wearables, AI, and motion capture were prominent in 2025. How did these technologies actually influence ergonomic assessments?
Wearables, AI, and motion capture became much more common in 2025, but their real impact comes from how they changed the way ergonomic assessments are conducted. Rather than relying solely on periodic observations or snapshot evaluations, practitioners are now able to collect continuous, real-time data during normal work activities. Wearable devices provide ongoing insight into posture, movement patterns, exertion levels, and environmental conditions such as vibration or temperature. This makes it easier to identify risk trends early and intervene sooner, particularly for new or less experienced workers who may not yet recognize unsafe postures or high-risk behaviors.
AI-driven motion capture tools have also expanded the reach of ergonomic assessments. Markerless systems that analyze movement using standard video footage reduce the need for specialized suits or wearable sensors, allowing assessments to be performed at a larger scale and in real work environments. These tools help ergonomists quickly screen tasks for awkward postures, repetitive motions, and deviations from neutral alignment across entire job roles or departments, rather than focusing on only a few individuals.
At the same time, important limitations have become apparent as these technologies have been used more widely. Systems that rely on a single camera or two-dimensional views often struggle to accurately capture depth, joint angles, and complex movements, especially in dynamic or cluttered environments. In addition, most AI-based tools still lack the ability to reliably measure or input physical forces, loads, or muscle effort. As a result, many assessments are able to flag visible posture or movement concerns but cannot accurately quantify how much physical strain workers are actually experiencing. Since force and load are key drivers of musculoskeletal injury risk, this gap limits how confidently risk levels can be prioritized or compared.
Overall, these technologies have significantly elevated the efficiency and visibility of ergonomic assessments, but they have not replaced the need for human expertise. Ergonomists remain essential for validating data quality, understanding task context, and translating technology-generated insights into practical and sustainable solutions. In many cases, the most effective outcomes come from combining digital tools with on-site observations, worker feedback, and professional judgment. This reinforces the understanding that technology works best as a decision-support tool, with human-led analysis still at the center of effective ergonomics programs.
What role did collaborative robots (cobots) play in reshaping ergonomic practices in 2025?
In 2025, collaborative robots became a major driver of ergonomic change by reducing physical strain on workers. Cobots took on high‑force, repetitive, or awkward tasks, allowing employees to focus on higher‑value, less physically demanding activities. This shift supported injury prevention, improved task consistency, and enhanced overall productivity across industries like semiconductors, distribution and warehousing, manufacturing, food and beverage, and healthcare.
A key development was the improvement in the usability of cobot interfaces and real‑time feedback systems, with increased focus on understanding and improving the cognitive demands placed on workers when using cobots. These demands include monitoring, coordinating, and anticipating the cobot’s actions. Advances in cobot design made human-robot collaboration feel safer and more intuitive. By responding to sensor input and adjusting their behavior in real time, cobots helped build worker trust and adoption. When cobots reacted predictably and transparently, workers reported higher comfort levels and lower stress, an important win for cognitive ergonomics.
Poor interface design or inconsistent robot behavior can lead to mental overload, fear, or distraction. Workers need to divide their time between completing their own tasks and monitoring the cobot, and when cobots are unpredictable, this can lead to higher levels of stress for the operator. Organizations learned that successful cobot integration isn’t just about deploying robots; it requires implementing strong safety protocols, performing ongoing validation, reprogramming the cobots, and addressing cultural barriers such as skepticism toward automation. These lessons pushed ergonomics toward a more holistic view of human-machine teamwork.
As we move into 2026, how is Weston helping clients turn emerging ergonomics technology into real risk reduction without creating new complexity or compliance headaches?
Heading into 2026, Weston’s strength is combining technical ergonomics expertise and data analytics with real-world implementation so clients adopt the right tools for their operations and can prove the impact. Instead of chasing trends, we help organizations evaluate root causes, conduct data analysis, and translate insights into controls that reduce exposure.
We do that through a holistic, EHS-integrated approach. Ergonomics isn’t a standalone effort. It touches safety, operations, workforce adoption, and regulatory expectations, so we design programs that move from assessment to action by identifying hazards, prioritizing controls, tracking follow-through, and documenting progress to support audits and demonstrate risk reduction.
Practically, that means we help clients:
- Select and pilot emerging tools (wearables, computer vision/motion analysis, virtual reality/augmented reality, automation) against real tasks to define where they work, where they don’t, and how results will be used.
- Use data to help pinpoint where efforts can have the most impact.
- Develop practical solutions that make a real impact by identifying the root causes and following the hierarchy of controls, focusing first on redesign and engineering changes rather than treating the symptoms and implementing behavior-based fixes alone.
- Put governance around data, privacy, and worker trust so technology supports people instead of feeling like surveillance.
- Integrate ergonomics into broader EHS management system practices, such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 45001–style continuous improvement, and into change management and engineering design programs so improvements are sustained beyond a one-time assessment.
With experience across industries and project types nationwide, Weston designs programs that balance innovation with real-world constraints like cost, operations, and long-term sustainability, delivering meaningful outcomes rather than just data.
As organizations look ahead to 2026, what practical steps should they take to modernize their ergonomics programs and avoid common pitfalls?
Modernizing ergonomics in 2026 starts with the program, not the gadgets:
- Build a repeatable system: identify exposure, prioritize improvements, implement controls, and verify results. Treat modernizing ergonomics as a continuous optimization process, not a one-time event.
- Focus on the root causes and known risk drivers: force, repetition, awkward and static postures, and vibration and contact stress. Use injury and complaint trends and targeted task assessments to find where exposure and risk are highest.
- Fix the work first: apply the hierarchy of controls, redesign workstations/tasks, reduce force and reach, and add mechanical assists before relying on training.
- Use technology selectively and validate it: wearables and computer vision can enhance screening, but they don’t reduce risk by themselves and they may fail to capture force/load or context. Pilot technology before scaling, and partner with an ergonomist to help with data validation.
- Protect trust: set clear privacy and usage boundaries so data support improvement, not surveillance.
Technology can help collect data. Modern ergonomics is about how you analyze the data and what you do next, and that’s where Weston comes in.