DJ Products, Inc.

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 our last post, we noted that Michigan has proposed regulations that would mandate ergonomic training and penalize employers for ignoring repetitive-stress injuries. While cognizant of the health and safety benefits to their workers, employers are understandably concerned about the cost. What they may fail to realize is that the cost of implementing and maintaining an ergonomic program pales in comparison to the exorbitant costs of ignoring ergonomics.

The annual price tag for workplace injury and illness is estimated at $171 billion. Back injuries, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive-stress injuries result in decreased productivity, poor product quality, increased medical costs, higher insurance payments, inflated workers’ compensation costs, low morale and high absenteeism. According to an American Medical Association study, 6,500 people die from workplace injuries each year and non-fatal injuries afflict another 13.2 million. The total cost of workplace injuries is nearly equal to the combined annual profits of America’s 20 largest companies.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Workers’ compensation claims cost U.S. businesses $60 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. More than 25% of those claims are for back injuries from repetitive lifting, pulling, pushing and straining, reports the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Back injuries, which involve lengthy and costly treatment, affect more than 1.75 million workers each year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. OSHA estimates that 1 in 5 disabling worker injuries is a back injury. Back injuries alone cost American businesses more than $12 million in lost workdays and $1 billion in compensation costs each year. The estimated time-lost cost for a single injury is $26,000.

Numerous studies have proved that ergonomically-designed equipment and systems can significantly decrease worker injury. Many manual tasks necessary during the handling of materials require repetitive motions — pushing, pulling, bending, lifting and carrying — that place undue strain on the human body. These actions can result in sprains, strains, back pain and other musculoskeletal injuries.

Installing ergonomically designed pushers, pullers and carts can save thousands of dollars a year in decreased medical, insurance and disability costs resulting from repetitive-stress musculoskeletal injuries. Implementing ergonomic practices in the workplace can improve worker morale considerably while increasing efficiency and productivity significantly. Retraining staff to utilize recognized ergonomic practices generally produces an immediate savings in reduced worker injuries and associated medical costs.

DJ Products specializes in providing affordable ergonomic solutions to material handling applications. Our highly trained staff can assist you in assessing your material handling needs and design ergonomic solutions tailored to the specific needs of your business.  For more information, 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.