Category: Ergonomics

Control Risk to Workers

Controlling exposures to occupational hazards is the fundamental method of protecting workers. Traditionally, a hierarchy of controls has been used as a means of determining how to implement feasible and effective controls. One representation of this hierarchy can be summarized as follows:

  • Elimination
  • Substitution
  • Engineering controls
  • Administrative controls
  • Personal protective equipment

The idea behind this hierarchy is that the control methods at the top of the list are potentially more effective and protective than those at the bottom. Following the hierarchy normally leads to the implementation of inherently safer systems, ones where the risk of illness or injury has been substantially reduced.

via CDC – Engineering Controls – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

Lift properly to prevent back injury

No one is immune to back injury. Whether you have a strong back or have hurt your back before, it is well worth it to:

  • Stop yourself before casually picking up a light or heavy load.
  • Plan in your mind for the best way to lift what’s in front of you. This could include enlisting help from one or more people.
  • Lift and move slowly and carefully.

The time you take to use the right lifting mechanics is far less than the days, weeks, or months it can take to heal from a back injury.

via Lifting properly to prevent back injury.

Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders

Ergonomics is the scientific study of people at work. The goal of ergonomics is to reduce stress and eliminate injuries and disorders associated with the overuse of muscles, bad posture, and repeated tasks. This is accomplished by designing tasks, work spaces, controls, displays, tools, lighting, and equipment to fit the employee´s physical capabilities and limitations.

via CDC – Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

What Is Total Worker Health?

Total Worker Health™ is a strategy integrating occupational safety and health protection with health promotion to prevent worker injury and illness and to advance health and well-being.

The protection, preservation, and improvement of the health and well-being of all people who work are goals shared by workers, their families, and employers. Today, more than ever, there is increasing evidence that the work environment and the overall health, safety and well-being of the workers within it are strongly connected. Diminished health and injury, whether caused by work or resulting from non-work activities, reduces quality of life, opportunity, and income for workers and those dependent upon them. Conversely, workplaces with low risk of injury and enhanced opportunities for the total health of workers can lead to a vibrant, engaged and highly performing workforce.

via CDC – Total Worker Health What Is Total Worker Health? – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Program.

Lifting properly to prevent back injury

Back problems: Proper lifting No one is immune to back injury.

Whether you have a strong back or have hurt your back before, it is well worth it to:

  • Stop yourself before casually picking up a light or heavy load.
  • Plan in your mind for the best way to lift whats in front of you. This could include enlisting help from one or more people.
  • Lift and move slowly and carefully.

The time you take to use the right lifting mechanics is far less than the days, weeks, or months it can take to heal from a back injury.

via Lifting properly to prevent back injury.

The 5 keys to a Healthier, Safer, More Productive Workforce

Not all Employers are the same and neither are the results of their risk management efforts. High performing companies follow these 5 key strategies.

  • First is safety intervention, that is, the attempt to prevent injuries from happening at all (measured as Safety Diligence, Ergonomic Solutions, and Safety Training).
  • Second is disability management, the set of strategies to minimize the disability consequences of a given injury or disease arising from the workplace (measured as Disability Case Monitoring and Proactive Return-to-Work Program).
  • Third is health promotion, which represents an attempt to intervene directly with individuals to encourage more healthy lifestyles, in the expectation that this will reduce the likelihood of a workplace accident or disease, or reduce the lost work time resulting from a given injury or disease (measured as Wellness Orientation).
  • Fourth is the general environment of the firm and the orientation of its management in areas measured as People Oriented Culture and Active Safety Leadership.
  • Fifth is the implementation, measurement and adjustment of the first four.

Disability can be managed and those who do it well can expect to be rewarded with lower disability costs, more satisfied workers, higher productivity and, ultimately, higher profits.

Ways To Cut Workers’ Comp Costs

A study of 5,568 employers in 29 different industries conducted by Michigan State University and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research gives some insight regarding injury prevention and loss control.  The study findings, issued in 1993, show that employers with the “best” records (fewest workers’ compensation claims) had these common qualities.

  • Placed great emphasis on safety and prevention practices;
  • Were more inclined to have “open” managerial styles that encourage shared decision making; and
  • Had consciously developed disability prevention and management strategies.

Employers are encouraged to look at their individual operations with a critical eye toward identifying ways to further reduce injuries and illness, thus improving working environments while cutting workers’ compensation claims cost.  Michigan companies that have successfully reduced workers’ compensation costs have offered the following cost-saving suggestions.

  • Set safety goals.
  • Create an employee incentive program.
  • Improve accident reporting and investigating.
  • Make review of injury reports part of the job of top managers (even the very top).
  • Review injury reports promptly.
  • Have front-line supervisors and employees design injury prevention programs.
  • Establish training programs in safe lifting techniques, hand safety and hazard recognition.
  • Purchase appropriate equipment along with making other ergonomic changes.
  • Develop return-to-work programs in which injured employees are allowed to return gradually, from simulated work settings to meaningful transitional or part-time assignments to full-time duty.
  • Write job descriptions that include “physical capability” requirements.

By making an effort to improve the safety of the workplace, companies can reduce their workers’ compensation insurance costs in two ways:

  • They can reduce the dollar value of business losses by limiting the severity of accidents or by eliminating them altogether.
  • They may make the business eligible for schedule rating credits, premium credits and other incentive programs offered by carriers.

CDC – Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic

Ergonomics is the scientific study of people at work. The goal of ergonomics is to reduce stress and eliminate injuries and disorders associated with the overuse of muscles, bad posture, and repeated tasks. This is accomplished by designing tasks, work spaces, controls, displays, tools, lighting, and equipment to fit the employee´s physical capabilities and limitations.

via CDC – Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders – NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

Keeping Boomers Fit for Work

As America’s baby boomers grow older and creakier, some companies are trying to keep those with hard-to-replace skills fit enough to remain on the job.

Harley-Davidson has a gym at its Menomonee Falls, Wis., factory where workers like Mike Snow, above, get exercise routines tailored to their jobs.

To avoid the early retirement of key workers, employers have redesigned work areas to minimize kneeling or awkward twisting of muscles and joints. Others have gone even further. Duke Energy Corp. offers a special stretching program for its line technicians before they start a shift. Harley-Davidson Inc. has trainers stand ready to ice down inflammations between shifts at one of its engine plants.

Given high unemployment, companies could hire young workers to replace older ones, but many jobs require years of on-the-job training. Boomers “can be role models and mentors for the younger folks,” says Joel Lunsford, a training manager at Duke Energy, an electric-power utility based in Charlotte, N.C. It takes about eight years for a line technician—people who make repairs on power lines—to master the main skills needed, he says. The average age of line technicians at Duke Energy is 50 to 55.

via WSJ.com