Tag: ergonomic design

Ergonomic Design Lowers Risk of Musculoskeletal Injury

Manual material handling (MMH) contributes to more than half a million musculoskeletal injuries a year in the U.S., said a 2007 report published by the California Department of Industrial Relations. A joint study by California OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that “effective ergonomic interventions can lower the physical demands of MMH work tasks, thereby lowering the incidence and severity of the musculoskeletal injuries they cause. Their potential for reducing injury-related costs alone make ergonomic interventions a useful tool for improving a company’s productivity, product quality, and overall business competitiveness.”

Musculoskeletal injuries, primarily strains and sprains to the lower back, shoulders and upper limbs, “can result in protracted pain, disability, medical treatment, and financial stress for those afflicted with them,” warns the report. Such injuries carry a double whammy for employers who “often find themselves paying the bill, either directly or through workers’ compensation insurance, at the same time they must cope with the loss of the full capacity of their workers.”

The report recommends adopting ergonomic solutions that reduce the physical demands of MMH tasks, including:

  • Using simple transport devices like carts to move loads,
  • Eliminating lifting from the floor,
  • Using lift-assist devices like scissors lift tables, and
  • Analyzing and redesigning work stations and workflow.

Next time: The advantages of employing ergonomic solutions in your workplace. 

Ergonomic Solutions Can Benefit Your Business

Ergonomic solutions are proven to decrease the incidence and severity of musculoskeletal injuries caused by manual material handling work tasks, reports a 2007 study by Cal-OSHA and NIOSH (see our Aug. 20 post). “Manual handling of containers may expose workers to physical conditions (e.g., force, awkward postures, and repetitive motions) that can lead to injuries, wasted energy, and wasted time,” warns the report. Using ergonomic solutions in the workplace to improve the fit between task demands and worker abilities can significantly benefit your business, the report concludes.

The U.S. Department of Labor defines manual material handling (MMH) as “seizing, holding, grasping, turning, or otherwise working with the hand or hands.” This includes moving individual items or pieces of equipment by manually lifting, lowering, filling, emptying or carrying them. These actions can place extreme stress on workers’ bodies, particularly back, shoulder and arm muscles. (Back injuries are the most commonly reported workplace injury in workers’ compensation claims.)

Ergonomic solutions to material handling seek not only to decrease the physical burden on workers’ bodies, but also to accommodate the wide variety of workers’ abilities and body types. Workers’ abilities will vary with gender, age, gender, strength, stature and a host of other variables. Ergonomic solutions often provide adjustable features to accommodate these differences.

According to the Cal-OSHA/NIOSH report, employing ergonomic equipment and ergonomic task design in your workplace will produce the following benefits:

  • Reduce and prevent injuries;
  • Reduce physical effort by workers by decreasing the forces necessary to perform lifting, handling, pushing and pulling tasks;
  • Reduce risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders;
  • Increase productivity, product and service quality and worker morale;
  • Eliminate production bottlenecks and error rates; and
  • Lower costs by reducing medical, insurance and workers’ compensation claims, lost man-hours, absenteeism and retraining.

Visit the DJ Products website to learn more about ergonomic solutions that will benefit your business.

Battery Powered Tugger Reduces Injury at Food Processing Plant

At a major food processing plant, workers had to manually push heavy meat carts to maneuver them between processing stations. Concerned about injury risk and worker safety, plant executives turned to DJ Products for ergonomic solutions to their material handling problem. Our experts recommended the CartCaddyShorty battery powered tugger, a motorized cart mover designed to push, pull and maneuver carts that require turning. The battery powered tugger is the most maneuverable tug on the market today with the power to handle most push/pull applications. Most commonly used with carts that have two front swivel casters and two straight casters, the ergonomically-designed CartCaddyShorty attaches to the swivel end of the cart to provide the power necessary for easy pushing, pulling, turning and intricate maneuvering. Heavy carts that usually require two workers to maneuver can be easily managed by a single employee. The battery powered tugger takes the physical burden off your workers, eliminating the exertion and straining that can cause serious and expensive musculoskeletal injuries.Musculoskeletal injuries cost U.S. businesses billions of dollars in medical, insurance, workers’ compensation and lost man-hour costs each year. According to OSHA statistics, back injuries alone cost businesses $12 million in lost workdays and $1 billion in compensation costs annually. The time-lost cost of a single back injury is estimated at $26,000.Through proactive use of the CartCaddyShorty, this major food processer was able to eliminate potential musculoskeletal injury risk at its facility. They also realized an increase in productivity and improved employee moral after introduction of DJ Products’ battery powered tugger. The CartCaddyShorty has also proved effective in hospital, hospitality and retail applications.Click here to learn more and to watch a video of the CartCaddyShorty in action. The world leader in providing battery powered tuggers and equipment movers to the manufacturing, hospital and retail markets, DJ Products offers a full line of ergonomically designed, powered carts, tugs and movers.

Congress Debates Increasing Fines for Worker Injury, Death

Congress is being urged to increase financial penalties for workplace injuries and deaths, according to congressional testimony reported by McClatchy Newspapers. In last week’s hearing before the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, workers’ advocate groups squared off against industry safety experts to debate increasing penalties when employers don’t protect their workers against hazardous conditions.

Workers’ advocates pressured the federal government to drastically increase fines and implement possible criminal prosecution for senior executives when workers are killed or seriously injured on the job. “The thought process has to be, ‘If I keep doing this, and I keep letting this happen. … I could go to jail,'” David Uhlmann of the University of Michigan School of Law and a former U.S. Department of Justice official, told the House Committee.

Speaking for the opposing view, a workplace safety attorney who helps businesses figure out how to respond appropriately to U.S. labor laws, recommended more clearly defined labor safety laws and more stringent enforcement of existing penalties for employers who exhibit a “callous disregard” for workers’ safety. “There needs to be a balance,” Lawrence Halprin, a lawyer with Keller and Heckman, told the House Committee, noting that confusing labor regulations often contribute to the creation of workplace hazards.

Last week’s hearing was one more volley in the Congressional debate that is accompanying preparation of anticipated legislation to overhaul the 39-year-old Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). With the Obama administration’s apparent blessing, House Democrats are preparing to give OSHA a new and sharper set of teeth. New regulations being considered would dramatically increase employers’ penalties, increase business owners’ accountability and protect workers who speak out about workplace violations. OSHA penalties have not been updated since 1990, and financial penalties were never indexed to inflation. Current penalties for the injury or death of a worker often total just a few thousand dollars.

“Penalties must be meaningful,” said Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “They must function to deter violations. They must get people’s attention.”

However, some committee members are concerned that their Congressional peers may be unduly swayed by the many stories of personal tragedy that have peppered the hearings. Rep. Tom Price, a Georgia Republican, noting that workplace fatalities have declined since 1994, said, “Sometimes Congress gets emotional and draws the wrong conclusions and makes the wrong laws.” Time will tell what happens here, but you might want to weigh in with your Congressman and tell him how you feel.