workplace injury Archives

UVA Weighs In on Preventing Workplace Injury with Push/Pull/Lift Tips

Avoid Back Injuries On The Job

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, back injuries make up 20 percent of all workplace injuries. Even more significant is the fact that 80 percent of those injuries involve the lower back and material handling duties.

Back injuries often result in chronic pain which can flare up at any time, either with or without re-aggravation. The Environmental Health & Safety Department of the University of Virginia cites the top five risk factors as:

1. Sloppy posture

2. Poor physical condition

3. Lack of proper body mechanics

4. Poor lifting techniques

5. High-energy jobs

UVA Offers Tips to Avoid Back Injuries

• Pushing and sliding are preferable to lifting.

• Don’t lift objects that exceed one-third to one-half of your own body weight.

• Avoid twisting and stretching to reach or move loads.

• Observe the “safe lifting zone” between your shoulders and knees. If an object is lower, bend your knees and lift with your legs. If it’s higher, use a stool or stepladder to reach it.

• Perform a few basic stretches before and after lifting or maneuvering an object, and continue stretching periodically throughout the day to prevent stiffness.

• Clear any obstacles in your path.

• Wear slip-resistant shoes.

• Support your spine by tightening your abdominal muscles.

• Breathe normally throughout the task. If you find yourself holding your breath, get assistance.

• Use appropriate equipment when necessary.

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Bending, Pushing, Pulling, the Costs of Doing It Wrong May Ring Up a Steep Bill

Be Mindful, Don’t Let Your Employees Overexert Themselves… It Could Lead to Serious Injury!

Overexertion from lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying or throwing objects in the workplace ranks as the number one cause of disabling injury, according to the 2016 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. This type of injury cost employers more than $15.08 billion in direct costs. That is approximately 25 percent of the total direct cost burden relating to workplace injuries for U.S. companies .

Use smart lifting and moving methods

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 36 percent of injuries that required missed workdays were shoulder and back injuries caused by overexertion and cumulative trauma from lifting heavy objects on a regular basis in the course of work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says employees can greatly reduce their likelihood of suffering from spinal injuries, pulled muscles, and back sprains by using smart lifting practices and utilizing mechanical methods like material handling tugs when moving heavy loads or objects.

When product or equipment must be lifted manually, employees should place the object in the “power zone” area of the body, which is mid-thigh to mid-chest. They should keep their spine straight whenever possible and bend with their knees instead of their waist. Mechanical lifts and material handling tugs should be used for anything weight more than 50 pounds. The work floor should be designed and laid out in such a way to allow clear passage of forklifts and other equipment essential to safely moving heavy loads.

Improve efficiency for your business and reduce the risk of overexertion injuries to your valuable team members by contacting one of our courteous and knowledgeable sales professionals at DJ Products.

Tips for Creating a Successful Ergonomics Program

Last time we talked about the financial and production benefits of implementing an ergonomics program (see our Nov. 24 post). A recent study on the bottom-line value of ergonomics showed a $4 savings for every dollar invested. Most businesses that purchase ergonomic equipment recoup their investment costs within the first year. The financial benefits alone make ergonomic equipment a shrewd investment in your future. But forward-thinking businesses that investment in ergonomics understand that they are also making a powerful proactive investment in the health, safety and retention of their workforce.

Creation of a successful ergonomics program requires three important elements, Mike Kind wrote recently in the New Hampshire Business Review:

Support of top management. To be successful, an ergonomics initiative must become part of your corporate culture and be thoroughly embraced and supported by top management. The introduction of an ergonomics program can be an excellent step toward creating a wellness-based focus in your organization, notes Kind.

Other wellness-centered activities include offering wellness training classes, scheduling health screenings and flu shots, providing healthier snacks and beverages in vending machines, sponsoring Weight-Watchers groups, offering gym membership discounts. Employers only stand to gain from sponsoring activities that promote a healthy workforce.

Established goals and measurable results. Any new initiative requires a bit of tweaking once it’s off the launch pad. Particularly in the early weeks of a launch, it’s important to conduct regular workplace assessments of a new ergonomics program to ensure that maximum efficiency and productivity are achieved. Close monitoring of employee complaints, injury reports, medical costs, workers’ compensation claims, absenteeism, lost man-hours and production results will provide the hard data needed to assess the success of your program and make any necessary changes.

Kind adds a word of caution: Don’t be surprised if you find an initial increase in incident reports. As employees learn about ergonomic issues, they are more likely to recognize the symptomatic causes of musculoskeletal complaints and report them. As your ergonomics program progresses and becomes an effective component of corporate culture, incidence reports will decrease significantly.

Next time we’ll discuss the importance of effective education, training and leadership in implementing a comprehensive ergonomics program in your workplace.

Successful Ergonomics Program Requires Strong Leadership

With President-elect Obama and a Democratic Congress poised to enact tough ergonomic standards within the next year, we’ve been discussing the financial, production and personnel benefits of implementing an ergonomic program (see our Nov. 24 & 26 posts). Being proactive in creating a wellness-focused corporate climate will enhance your ability to compete in the future. Implementation of a strong ergonomic plan and a move to ergonomically-designed equipment has been proven to increase production efficiency and decrease healthcare costs.

The success of a comprehensive ergonomics plan is dependant upon the support of top management, the creation of demonstrable goals and measurable results, and, most critically, the provision of effective employee education and training coupled with strong program leadership.

Effective education, training and leadership. Thorough education and onsite training of employees is critical to the success of a new ergonomics program. Education about the features and processes of a new ergonomics initiative must be backed up with onsite training.

As workers become familiar with new features and practice new processes, the provision of adequate onsite supervision is critical. Workers need time to learn new skills and procedures and change long-established habits. Continuous supervision not only reinforces raining, but reveals areas that require adjustment. Ask your employees for input. People who perform the tasks often spot potential problem areas in new procedures and provide keen insight into productive solutions.

In an article published in New Hampshire Business Review, Mike Kind also recommends selecting a “champion” to spearhead a new ergonomics initiative. Designating a person with clear oversight over the program facilitates implementation of the original initiative and subsequent revisions. It creates a clear chain of command easily accessible by both management and workers. It centralizes the dissemination of information and collection of review data, improving analysis quality and speed.

A recognized industry leader in the design and production of ergonomically-designed material handling equipment, DJ Products provides a useful Ergonomic Load Calculator on our website. Created to assist ergonomic and health and safety professionals in designing ergonomic programs, our free calculator estimates the amount of horizontal force necessary to move wheeled loads. By inputting vital data about your specific application, including floor condition, terrain, footing, load weight and transport distance, our Ergonomic Load Calculator calculates the specific needs of a given application.

DJ Products’ ergonomic specialists are also available to assist you in evaluating your ergonomic needs. We’re the experts in finding creative solutions to ergonomic issues in the workplace. Give us a call today and let us help you position your business for the future.

Ergonomics Investment Adds to Healthy Bottom Line

Every dollar invested in an ergonomics program results in a savings of $4. That’s the astounding finding of a recent study on the cost effectiveness of implementing ergonomics programs in U.S. manufacturing and business settings.

In the past, many companies didn’t initiate ergonomic programs until forced to do so in response to workers’ compensation claims. The expense associated with claims coupled with the responsibility to eliminate hazardous work conditions forced companies to implement solutions to address ergonomics issues. But acting after the fact only prolongs the agony, pointed out Mike Kind, writing for the New Hampshire Business Review. “As claims are filed, an organization’s workers’ compensation premium increases immediately upon renewal. It then takes a three-year history of reductions in claims for the rate to drop.”

Proactively implementing an ergonomics program may not eliminate every future workplace injury, but the use of ergonomically-designed equipment and the introduction of ergonomic practices has been shown time and again to significantly reduce workplace injuries and their associated costs. In most cases, the cost of ergonomics equipment is recouped within the first year.

As an example, Kind cited a highly computerized operation in which more than half of the employees reported musculoskeletal disorders during their first year on the job. Implementation of an aggressive ergonomics program, including new equipment, procedures and training, resulted in an overall 50% decrease in worker complaints.

Proactive implementation of ergonomics initiatives impacts your bottom line immediately and positively. “In one client research study, it was determined that for every dollar invested in an ergonomics program, $4 in cost savings were achieved,” Kind said. Reduction of worker injury results in significant savings in direct medical costs, insurance and workers’ compensation premiums. Lost work-hours due to doctors’ appointments, physical therapy sessions, sick days and absenteeism decrease. As employee safety and well-being improve, workplace morale increases, bringing with it a healthy work environment, increased productivity and improved customer service.

Creating a successful ergonomics program hinges on three important elements, Kind said:

Support of top management and inclusion in the corporate culture
Establish goals and measure results
Provide effective education, training and leadership

Next time: Tips for creating a successful ergonomics program

Pushmi-Pullyu Mentality Increases Workplace Injury

Remember the Pushmi-pullyu (push-me-pull-you) from Hugh Lofting’s Dr. Dolittle stories for children? It was an antelope with two heads, one on each end of its body. (In the popular Eddie Murphy movies, they used a llama.) Whenever the creature wanted to move, both heads would take off at once, pushing and pulling back and forth and going nowhere. Since pushing and pulling exert two of the greatest stresses on the body, the poor critter must have been in constant need of the good doctor’s chiropractic skills! That same Pushmi-pullyu mentality toward workplace task and equipment design can put your employees at serious risk of sustaining disabling musculoskeletal injuries.

Pushing, pulling, lifting and carrying tasks place a greater strain on the human body’s soft tissues — muscles and tendons — than any other tasks. These tasks are also universal to nearly all work environments. Wheeled carts, platforms or equipment must be loaded and unloaded and pushed and pulled through manufacturing plants, distribution centers, hospital corridors, grocery store aisles, hotel hallways, office buildings and retail establishments. Most jobs require at least occasional pushing, pulling, lifting or carrying; and many jobs require workers to spend their entire workday engaged in these activities, performing the same, repetitive movements hour after hour. The cumulative wear and tear on the body can lead to serious injury of soft tissues and eventual disability.

Too often tasks, work spaces and equipment aren’t designed to accommodate the natural differences in the size and physical capabilities of workers. A task performed first shift by a six-foot, 180-pound, 25-year-old male may be performed second shift by a five-foot three-inch, 130-pound, 45-year-old female and third shift by a five-foot seven-inch, 260-pound, 60-year-old male. Because work tasks and equipment are usually designed around a “standard” worker type — which, unfortunately, few workers match — most workers are forced to assume awkward postures while exerting force to complete work tasks. Serious, debilitating strains and sprains can result, particularly when these actions are repeated over time.

When soft tissues in the arms, shoulders, back and legs are injured, the tissues recover, though it may take some time. But repeated injury, particularly when it occurs before tissues have had time to fully recover, interferes with the body’s natural healing process, overwhelming the body’s ability to recover and leading to permanent, disabling injury. Such cumulative traumas are called musculoskeletal disorders. Also referred to as repetitive stress injuries and repetitive motion injuries, these serious, disabling strains and sprains cost U.S. businesses tens of billions of dollars each year.

Next time: Ergonomics; just what the doctor ordered.

Ergonomics: Just What the Doctor Ordered

Pushing, pulling, lifting and carrying tasks place a greater strain on the human body’s soft tissues — muscles and tendons — than any other workplace tasks. Universal to nearly every work environment, these tasks are the source of musculoskeletal injuries that annually cost U.S. businesses tens of billions of dollars. Fortunately, most of these injuries are preventable. The debilitating and disabling strains and sprains that annually plague millions of U.S. workers can be largely prevented with the adoption of ergonomic practices and the use of ergonomically-designed equipment.

Workers come in all shapes and sizes, but work tasks and equipment are usually “one size fits all.” Most workplace musculoskeletal injuries occur when workers are forced to adapt their bodies to fit the task or equipment, torquing their bodies into awkward postures that increase stress on muscles and tendons. For example, when pushing, pulling or maneuvering a heavy wheeled cart, a worker must exert significant force to overcome rolling resistance. While handholds designed to assist in force delivery may be at the correct level for an average-sized male, even an averaged-sized female worker will have to stretch and strain to move the cart, placing undue stress on back, leg, shoulder and arm muscles. The risk of musculoskeletal injury is great when worker and equipment are not a perfect fit.

Ergonomics is the science of fitting the equipment or task to the capabilities of the worker to prevent musculoskeletal injury. Ergonomically-designed equipment, like the powered carts and movers designed and manufactured by DJ Products, takes into account a host of variables that affect worker production and efficiency. The type of task, force required, worker gender and diversity, optimal handhold height, distance, and frequency of the task must all be considered in the design of ergonomic equipment.

DJ Products is a major innovator in the design and manufacture of ergonomic solutions to material handling situations. Our ergonomically-designed electric and motorized carts, tugs and movers eliminate the strains and pains associated with manually pushing and pulling heavy carts, equipment or materials in a wide variety of industrial and retail environments. Our products are less costly, smaller and more maneuverable than traditional electric equipment used to move carts and equipment on production floors and in warehouses. Our battery-powered walk-behind movers provide maximum operator control and safety while offering superior maneuverability, even in narrow or tight spaces like busy hospital corridors and crowded grocery aisles. As a leading manufacturer of ergonomic powered carts and movers, DJ Products has built a reputation for developing ergonomic solutions to unique and specialized customer material handling challenges. Contact our ergonomic sales engineers today for an evaluation of your ergonomic needs.

How Ergonomics Increases Productivity and Quality

In our last post we talked about how ergonomically designed material handling equipment improves worker health and safety by reducing expensive and potentially debilitating musculoskeletal injury. Business owners also realize measurable increases in worker productivity and product quality when ergonomic equipment and procedures are introduced into the workplace.

Most industrial equipment and work procedures were originally designed for occasional use, not the high-pressured, repetitive, long shifts found in the modern work place. By designing equipment that adjusts to the physical size and capabilities of each individual worker and by structuring work procedures to eliminate uncomfortable body positions during task performance, ergonomics decreases fatigue on muscles while increasing worker comfort. This enables workers to continue working comfortably without the frequent breaks they would otherwise need to stretch and rest tired muscles. Workers remain fresh and energized and can work comfortably through an entire shift. The result is decreased injury, better worker morale and increased worker productivity resulting in improved product quality. Ergonomics produces a win-win scenario for business owners and their employees.

Implementation of an effective ergonomic plan requires a three-pronged approach that involves engineering, administration and work practice modifications.

Engineering modifications may include changes in equipment and tools used, workstation modifications and changes in the way tasks are performed. Because engineering modifications produce the greatest reduction or elimination of physical risk, they also result in the greatest cost savings. Reduced physical risk reduces the medical, insurance, disability and lost man-hour costs of potentially debilitating musculoskeletal injury. On its website, DJ Products provides an invaluable Ergonomic Load Calculator that can be used to estimate the force needed to move loads in a variety of workplace environments and recommend ergonomic solutions to your material handling problems.
Administration modifications involve alterations to the work organization and/or workplace culture. While less expensive to implement, results are also less reliable in that they depend entirely on human compliance. Administrative modifications may include education and training in ergonomic procedures, restructuring job responsibilities to minimize repetitive tasks, worker/task rotation, increasing the frequency or duration of break periods for certain tasks, improving workers’ physical conditioning and developing oversight programs.
Work practice modifications include the development of ergonomic procedures for the performance of each individual task, worker training and oversight.

The initial investment in ergonomics may seem to be considerable, but the benefits — and long-term savings — far outweigh the costs and continue long after the initial investment is recouped.

Monday: How ergonomics saves money

Two Factors Have Greatest Impact on Ergonomic Risk

Frequency and duration are the two factors that have the greatest impact on ergonomic risk. In developing or reviewing your company’s ergonomic plan, pay particular attention to the frequency and duration of tasks that stress the musculoskeletal system. Reducing the frequency or duration of these tasks will significantly decrease the incidence and severity of musculoskeletal injuries in your workplace. When not addressed, the frequency and duration of tasks that strain workers’ musculature or skeletal system have been proven to significantly increase the risk and expense of long-term injury and loss of function.

It makes sense that the more frequently a worker is required to perform a pushing, pulling, lifting or carrying task that causes overexertion or strain, the greater the risk of musculoskeletal injury. In fact, the repetitive performance of a task over time takes a similar toll on the body, even when muscle strain is not involved. The longer a worker is required to perform a task — duration — also increases the risk of injury. Interestingly, researchers at the National Safety Council have found that the presence of multiple ergonomic risk factors — as few as two — has a multiplicative rather than an additive effect on the likely development of musculoskeletal injury.

The following actions have been found to effectively reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury in the workplace:

Decreasing the number of risk factors present in the workplace. Ergonomically-designed carts, tugs, scissor lifts and similar material handling equipment can be used to perform manual tasks that involve pushing, pulling, lifting and transporting, taking the burden off workers, reducing injury risk and improving productivity.
Providing sufficient recovery time between task sessions. Providing rest breaks allows muscle recovery between work sessions. Rotating workers through a variety of tasks limits their risk exposure. But the most productive solution is utilization of ergonomic material handling equipment that enables repeated performance of a specialized task without injury risk.

ErgoExpo Promotes Value of Ergonomics to Business

With the 15th Annual National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition opening tomorrow in Las Vegas, this seems like a good time to promote the value of ergonomics to creating safe working conditions, safe work environments and saving businesses a considerable amount of money on their bottom line. ErgoExpo will focus on the role of workplace ergonomics in economic recovery with special educational tracks detailing return on investment, impact on America’s aging workforce, potential to reduce health care costs, and impact on improving workplace safety.

The application of ergonomics to workplace processes and equipment has been proven time and again to increase productivity and profitability while improving health, safety and morale. Implementing an ergonomic plan and utilizing ergonomic equipment in your place of business is a win-win proposition — for business owners and their employees.

Ergonomic procedures eliminate painful movements that can stretch and pull muscles causing injury, particularly with repetition or over time.
Utilizing ergonomically-designed material handling equipment eliminates the strain and risk of injury from transporting and positioning materials or equipment.
Implementing an ergonomic program creates a safer environment in the workplace.
Ergonomic equipment allows workers to stay on the job longer and take fewer and shorter breaks, increasing productivity.
A safer work environment means fewer injuries and fewer lost man-hours, increasing worker productivity.
Fewer injuries decrease direct medical and physical therapy costs as well as the expense of insurance and disability claims, improving your bottom line.
When work is less physically taxing, workers are happier and workplace morale goes up.
When injuries go down and morale goes up, absenteeism goes down and productivity goes up!

To find out more about ergonomically-designed material handling equipment, visit the DJ Products’ website today.

Tag: workplace injury