Tag: repetitive stress injuries

We’ve been talking about the high cost of ignoring ergonomics in the workplace (see our Aug. 29 and Sept. 1 posts). Manual material handling tasks that are performed repeatedly or over long periods of time can lead to physical and mental fatigue and injury. So how do you tell if your workers are at risk from repetitive-stress injuries? The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends looking for the following risk factors:

• Repeated motions including frequent reaching, lifting or carrying
• Awkward postures such as bending, twisting or stretching to reach materials
• Static postures where the same position must be maintained for a long period of time
• Pressure points including handholds, footholds and any point where workers contact the load to grasp, push, pull or lean against a hard or sharp surface
• Forceful exertions such as carrying or lifting heavy loads

Over time, repeated exposure to any of these risk factors can cause fatigue, pain and eventual injury, particularly to the back, shoulders, hands and wrists. Muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels can be damaged by repetitive-stress injuries. Continuing to perform the same tasks with such musculoskeletal disorders can cause permanent physical damage.

Reducing the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs, in your workplace must involve both engineering and administrative improvements.

Engineering improvements. Work spaces and task procedures may need to be reordered, modified or redesigned. Environmental conditions such as heat, cold, noise and lighting which can contribute to worker duress may need to be addressed. Ergonomically designed equipment or tools may need to be purchased. For example, motorized carts can be used to carry loads and even move heavy machinery and equipment without physical strain. Scissors lifts can be used to elevate loads without physical effort. Adjustable cargo beds can be used to position loads at optimal lift heights for manual loading and unloading. Powered equipment can eliminate the push/pull forces that can lead to serious back and shoulder injuries.

Administrative improvements. Workers come in all shapes and sizes. Repetitive-stress injuries often occur when workers are forced to use equipment or perform tasks that are not tailored to their individual physique. They must engage in injury-risking bending, stretching and pushing to do their job. Ergonomics strives to mold the task or equipment to the worker to avoid such overexertion. Administrative initiatives can also reduce worker exposure to risk factors. For example, repetitive-stress injury risk can be reduced by rotating workers through jobs that use different muscle groups, alternating heavy and light tasks, providing task variety, adjusting work schedules and pace, and providing rest breaks.  

For help in finding ergonomic solutions to your material handling needs, visit the DJ Products website.

In response to concern about workplace injuries, Michigan plans to institute new state regulations targeting repetitive-stress job injuries. Under the proposed rules, employers would be required to offer ergonomic training and work to correct reported injuries. State regulators would have the power to punish employers for repeated worker injuries. Critics are concerned that the rules will place another financial burden on Michigan’s already struggling economy.

California is the only other state with similar regulations, despite the fact that repetitive-stress job injuries are estimated by OSHA to cost America more than $20 billion annually, or about one-third of the total workers’ compensation costs paid by employers. “It’s a significant issue, even though the standard is fairly minimal,” said Doug Kalinowski, director of MIOSHA. “It’s been very contentious.”

In 2001, repetitive-stress injury regulations proposed by federal regulators were estimated to cost employers $5 billion. Those regulations were blocked by Congress. Michigan’s Small Business Association is concerned that the costs of training and reporting procedures will place a significant burden on small businesses and make it harder for them to compete nationally. Larger companies that have ergonomics programs in place would be exempted under the proposed rules.

Manufacturers are similarly concerned. “It’s a pretty broad issue and there are a lot of costs involved,” noted Amy Show of the Michigan Manufacturers Association. “We don’t know what true costs are going to be until we know how strict the department is going to be in enforcing this.”

The proposed rules would only apply to general industry. Construction, agriculture, mining and domestic employment are specifically excluded. But the construction industry and labor representatives believe that if the rules are adopted, it will only be a matter of time before they are expanded to include construction. “There are many within the building trades, or ironworkers, that suffer from repetitive-motion injuries,” said William Borch, president of Ironworkers Local 25 in Saginaw, Michigan and one of the labor representatives who reviewed the proposed rules.

“The problem is that … these types of injuries are not an imminent danger [to life], even though they can be career-ending types of injuries and cause long-term pain and suffering,” Borch said. Considering the risk to workers, Borch felt the proposed rules provided minimum standards. “It doesn’t seem like a lot to ask,” he said.

Advocates of the proposed rules argue that the implementation of ergonomics creates a safer work environment, increases productivity, minimizes downtime and decreases workers’ compensation costs — all formidable inducements to embracing ergonomics.