Tag: workplace safety

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.

2010 Applied Ergonomics Conference Slated for March

Scheduled for March 22-25, the 2010 Applied Ergonomics Conference (AEC) to be held in San Antonio, Texas is slated to be North America’s biggest and most impressive gathering of ergonomics experts, applications and equipment providers. What sets AEC apart from other ergonomic conferences is its emphasis on the practical application of ergonomic principles and discoveries to real world industrial problems. This is not an esoteric meeting of high-brow academics, though you’ll find the more practical of their ilk in attendance. This is a working man’s conference. A meeting of industrialists, ergonomic experts and others involved in day-to-day efforts to improve the health and safety of American workers through the application of ergonomics to real world problems.

 The 2010 AEC conference will be held at the Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa with early registration discounts available through January 15, 2010. Ergoweb is offering a special 50% discount to its followers until this Friday, December 18 on registrations for the conference and host hotel. (Click here for registration form and more information from ErgowebM [Expired].)

Keynote speakers scheduled include Y. Ian Noy, vice president and director of Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, and Guy Fragata, senior advisor for Ergonomics Patient Safety Center of Inquiry. Multiple educational tracks and numerous informational exhibits by leaders in the ergonomics industry will also be featured at the conference.

As a leader in the design and manufacture of ergonomically-designed material handling equipment, DJ Products is intimately involved in solving daily ergonomics problems in a wide variety of U.S. industries including manufacturing and heavy industry, hospitality, hospital and health care, automotive and commercial retail. We understand the critical need for ergonomic systems and ergonomic material handling equipment that protects the health and safety of American workers. To find our more about our full line of ergonomic motorized carts and tugs, visit the DJ Products website.

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.

What’s Stress Got to Do with It?

When we think about work stress we tend to focus on its impact on our daily job: cost overruns that threaten to push our project over budget, smoothing the ruffled feathers of a fellow employee, meeting sales projections, etc. But stress comes from multiple sources. There’s mental stress from trying to accomplish a goal, emotional stress from interacting with fellow workers, and physical stress resulting from overexertion. We’re human which means that stress is a daily occurrence, particularly in this economy. The problem is that chronic stress can affect performance — both mental and physical, decreasing effectiveness and productivity.

A new study published in the July issue of the journal Science shows that chronic stress actually rearranges the wiring in our brain. In a study with rats conducted jointly by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and researchers at the University of Minho in Portugal, stressed rats lost the ability to make effective decisions. Effective decision making, whether in the performance of mental or physical tasks, requires humans to choose the most productive option from a field of choices. When stress is unrelieved, people are more likely to make poor decisions. In the study, the portion of the brain associated with goal-directed behavior shrank while the area that controlled habit formation grew. Under perpetual stress, people, just like the rats in the study, lose the ability to make smart decisions and fall back on old habits.

Physical stress from overexertion, overreaching or cramped work platforms were as debilitating in eroding decision-making ability as emotional or mental stress. Interestingly, physical stress accelerated the erosion of mental abilities faster than other kinds of stress. Pain and discomfort seem to act more quickly on human stress thresholds than mere mental irritation. Utilizing ergonomically-designed material handling equipment is one smart way to decrease employee stress.

Obama Administration Proposes New Ergonomic Reporting Rules

For the last year, the economy, health care reform and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have occupied President Obama, forcing his campaign promise to improve workplace safety onto the back burner. With those issues under better control, the Obama administration appears to be ramping up to tackle workplace safety. Repetitive-stress musculoskeletal injuries harm 460,000 workers and cost U.S. businesses $9.1 billion in health care costs each year. As the first step toward developing regulations to reduce the risk and incidence of musculoskeletal injuries, the Obama administration this week proposed that U.S. companies be required to keep more extensive records of ergonomic-related injuries. Most analysts assume this to be the administration’s first volley in the battle to reinstate workplace injury regulations similar to those implemented by President Clinton but quickly nullified by President Bush in 2001.

The new proposal doesn’t attempt to reinstate the Clinton regulations at this time, but it does put the issue back on the negotiating table and is expected to quickly revive the ergonomics debate in Washington. Earning immediate support from the AFL-CIO which has been lobbying for a return of ergonomic requirements since Obama’s campaign days, the newly proposed reporting requirement is subject to public comment before it takes effect. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is expected to provide stiff opposition. The country’s largest business lobbying group, the U.S. Chamber fought vigorously against the Clinton era ergonomic regulations arguing that implementation would cost American employers more than $4.2 billion per year.

Frankly, we think opposition to ergonomics is shortsighted. Change is inexorable. The upshot of the health care reform debate is that American medicine must move from the current acute care model to increased preventative care to reign in soaring medical costs and effectively care for America’s aging population. New emphases in health care will increase demand for ergonomic equipment and processes that prevent disabling musculoskeletal injuries. Those who embrace the future early, stand to gain the most.

Florida Conference to Focus on Ergonomics

The Central Florida Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) will host a one-day ergonomics conference on November 4, 2009 in Orlando, Florida. The purpose of the conference is to help business leaders develop proactive ergonomic programs and practices within their workplaces to identify and reduce the risk factors that result in often debilitating musculoskeletal injuries.

Musculoskeletal injuries that damage the body’s connective tissues — muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage and spinal discs — accounted for 29% of all workplace injuries in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That year more than 335,000 musculoskeletal injuries required an average work absence of 9 days, more than 4 times the average 2-day absence required by most workplace injuries. When incorporated in equipment design and the development of workplace procedures, ergonomics has been proven to significantly reduce the risk and incidence of musculoskeletal injury.

“Ergonomics affects virtually every aspect of the safety profession, from machine use to construction safety to office set-up,” ASSE Central Florida Chapter President Jeff Spackman told OH&S (Occupational Health & Safety) online. “As an ASSE chapter, we do everything possible to be of the greatest value to our members who are committed to protecting people, property, and the environment. We felt holding a development conference on this very important topic would be of the greatest value to the greatest number of our members.”

The November conference will feature two general and four concurrent sessions covering ergonomic design and practices in various settings, including industrial, construction, workstation and office. Worker’s compensation issues, injury prevention and rehabilitation will also be addressed. The keynote address will be presented by Isabel Perry, Ph. D., president of TheSafetyDoctor.com. Among other scheduled speakers are Daniel McCune, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University safety director; Eric Austin, Amerisure Insurance senior loss control consultant; Ronald Porter, director of Back School of Atlanta; and Michael Belcher, ASSE Region IV VP and director of safety at DS Waters of America.

Click here for more information and to register for the November 4 ergonomic conference at the Orlando Repertory Theater in Orlando, Florida.

Reducing Pain of Worker’s Comp

“Ergonomics and Reducing the Pain in Worker’s Comp” is the topic of a workshop scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, January 20. Sponsored by the Northern Minnesota Safety Council, the workshop will be held at the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation at 3801 Bemidji Ave. N, Suite 4, Bemidji, MN. Cost of the program is $25 per person; lunch will be provided. To register or for more information, visit the Center’s website at www.cri-bsu.org.

The workshop recognizes two forces that are coming together to reshape American industry: the high cost of health care and increased governmental regulation of workplace safety. With Congress on the verge of approving a national health care plan and the Obama administration in the midst of reviewing OSHA ergonomics standards in anticipation of ordering more stringent workplace safety standards later this year, the workshop should provide attendees with a more thorough understanding of the impact ergonomics can have on their business. The program will feature Joe Kapaun of Choice Therapy with expertise in onsite ergonomic systems evaluations and industrial rehabilitation.

Ergonomics has been proven to reduce workplace musculoskeletal injuries which account for the majority of worker’s compensation claims. Worker’s compensation claims cost American businesses more than $60 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The National Council on Compensation Insurance reports that more than 50% of those claims are for back injuries from lifting, pulling, pushing and straining. Ergonomically-designed material handling equipment significantly reduces worker injury from manual labor tasks, resulting in significant worker’s compensation savings. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculated the estimated time-lost cost per injury at $26,000 per incident. Prevention of a single injury by implementing use of ergonomically-designed material handling equipment results in an immediate savings of $26,000. 

To find out how ergonomic material handling equipment can help you reduce worker’s compensation costs, visit the DJ Products website. 

Material Handling Industry Moving to Clean, Green Electric Carts

“Cleaner, greener, smarter.” That’s how John Teresko characterized the material handling industry’s shift to electric battery-powered vehicles in a recent online article on Industry Week. “While the continuing transition to electric battery-powered lift trucks may suggest only environmental concern, the trend is really part of a broader search for new levels of performance and productivity,” he said. Over the past decade sales of electric trucks have gradually overtaken and surpassed sales of internal combustion models. The move to electric power is the most significant, most evident trend in the material handling industry.

While Teresko happened to be writing about forklift trucks, the move to clean-energy, electric battery-powered carts and tugs is universal across the landscape of the material handling industry. Fueled by a growing concern for the environment and skyrocketing fossil fuel costs, savvy businessmen have been trading in their gas- and diesel-powered vehicles in favor of cleaner, cheaper-to-operate electric battery-powered equipment. With the capacity to operate a full shift without recharge, electric battery-powered material handling equipment provides significant energy savings without any loss of productivity.

What Teresko didn’t mention is that forward-thinking manufacturers and business owners are moving away from forklifts altogether in favor of cheaper, more versatile, more efficient, safer, ergonomically-designed powered carts and movers. Heralding the next significant shift in the material handling industry, manufacturers are replacing forklifts with highly maneuverable powered movers that allow greater flexibility of use. Their smaller size and ability to maneuver in tight spaces and highly trafficked areas allow motorized carts and powered cart movers to be employed in a wide variety of tasks, increasing the flexibility and versatility of your material handling equipment resources.

Receiving equal consideration is the appallingly high accident/injury rate associated with forklifts. Ergonomically-designed powered carts, tugs and movers have a proven track record of reducing accidents and musculoskeletal injuries. Switching to ergonomically designed electric battery-powered movers results in a significant savings in medical, insurance, disability and workers’ compensation costs and has been proven to reduce absenteeism and lost man-hours. Investment costs are routinely recouped in the first year after purchase. Ergonomically-designed electric battery-powered material handling equipment is the industry’s next most important trend and savvy business owners are getting onboard.

Get Powered Carts for Aging Healthcare Workers

As workers get older, the wear and tear of age, combined with a lifetime of labor can contribute to them slowing down. This does not mean that older workers should be cast aside, however. It does mean that employers need to recognize that retaining older workers may require some adjustments.

A Department of Labor newsletter article entitled, “The Aging Workforce: Challenges for the Healthcare Industry Workforce” outlined a growing concern for employers in healthcare and other industries. It said that “By 2050, the U.S. Census predicts that 19.6 million American workers will be 65 years or older, roughly 19 percent of the total U.S. workforce” and that by 2020 almost half of all registered workers will be eligible to retire. Not only will these workers be aging themselves, they will be called on to assist patients who are even older than they are,

In some instances, these workers will stay on the job because of financial need or a desire to remain active. In other cases, employers will want to keep these workers on because of their knowledge and experience. Either way, employers will need to think of ways to make work tasks adaptable to aging physiques.

Providing ergonomic material handling carts such as an electric cart puller or powered cart from out CartCaddy line of products can make a difference. These are our smallest and most maneuverable caddies, designed for lighter loads and areas with lots of pedestrian traffic. These applications usually have a space constraint, and these products tend to look less industrial in nature than some of our more heavy-duty material handling solutions.

Anatomy of Push-Pull Tasks: Placing the Body at Risk

Pushing and pulling tasks are daily life occurrences, particularly, in the workplace. Because of the extreme stress these two forces exert on the body and the frequency with which push-pull tasks must be performed, pushing and pulling result in an extraordinarily high number of musculoskeletal injuries each year. These injuries, which cost U.S. businesses tens of billions of dollars annually, are largely preventable when ergonomic practices and ergonomically-designed equipment are introduced into the workplace.

Surprisingly, it’s not the weight of the load that makes push-pull tasks so physically demanding, it’s the horizontal push force needed to initiate and sustain movement that places the greatest strain on the human body. In order to overcome natural inertia, tremendous force must be applied to initiate motion of a cart or piece of heavy equipment. As the operator strains against inertia, he must exert extraordinary force to start the cart or piece of equipment moving. In his exertions, the operator places unusual strain on the muscles and tendons of his legs, back, shoulders, arms and wrists. Pressure decreases as the load begins rolling as less force is needed to keep a moving load in motion. However, every time the operator must stop and restart motion, for example to onload or offload parts at a workstation or turn a corner or maneuver through a tight space, he must again exert the extraordinary force necessary to overcome inertia, risking serious musculoskeletal injury each time.

Of the two methods used to move carts and pieces of heavy equipment, pushing is always preferable to pulling. Pulling places greater strain on the body than pushing. It forces the worker to assume positions that minimize the application of force and increase the risk of injury. There are two ways to pull a load: using one hand and facing the direction of travel or using two hands but walking backward and facing away from the direction of travel. Both are problematic and increase the risk of operator injury. Next time we’ll talk about the specific risks involved in each type of pulling task.

The severe strain placed on the body when pulling and maneuvering heavy loads or heavy equipment is eliminated with the use of DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed, motorized carts, tugs and movers. DJ Products’ motorized carts and movers allow operators to safely and without effort move and maneuver carts and equipment with just one hand. DJ Products’ walk-behind design guarantees maximum operator control and safety with full view of the path ahead. Visit the DJ Products’ website for more information about our full line of ergonomically-designed carts, tug and movers.

Next time: Risk factors in pulling tasks