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November 26, 2008
By: CartPro
Category: Business Tips, Manufacturing Industry, Material Handling, Safety and Ergonomics, Warehousing, fulfillment, logistics
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.
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November 24, 2008
By: CartPro
Category: Business Tips, Manufacturing Industry, Material Handling, Safety and Ergonomics, Warehousing, fulfillment, logistics
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
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November 19, 2008
By: CartPro
Category: Automotive Industry, Food industry, Future Trends, Material Handling, Nursing Homes, Pharmaceutical industry, Productivity Tips, Products, Safety and Ergonomics, Warehousing, fulfillment, hospitals, logistics
News continues to look dire for the labor market. The Conference Board Employment Trends Index, or ETI, continued to decline in October. Down nearly 12% from a year ago, the index fell to 105.3 in October, a further 2% decrease from its September level. And the future isn’t looking good, said Conference Board Senior Economist Gad Levanon who predicts continued deterioration of the labor market and rising unemployment rates well into 2009.
“The economic developments of the last two months made it clear to businesses that demand for goods and services in the U.S. is declining, and businesses are responding by aggressively slashing their payrolls,” said Levanon in an interview published in Manufacturing & Technology eJournal. “Unfortunately, it seems this environment will persist for several more quarters and business leaders will continue reducing their workforce.”
Published monthly by the Conference Board, a global non-profit business organization that monitors and forecasts economic trends, the ETI is a compilation of eight labor-market indicators:
- percentage of workers who find jobs “hard to get”
- initial unemployment insurance claims
- percentage of companies with job openings
- number of temporary hires
- number of part-time workers working for economic reasons
- number of job openings
- industrial production rates
- real manufacturing and trade sales
Whether we like it or not, in a recession most businesses are forced to trim labor costs in order to survive. It’s happening in every sector of U.S. economy. From retail sales to office workers to manufacturing, layoffs are occurring, workforces are being downsized and retiring workers are not being replaced. This means fewer workers must shoulder greater burdens if production quality and output are to be maintained.
Ergonomically-designed equipment easily enables a single worker to do a job that may previously have required two or more workers when performed manually. By transferring physical effort from the worker to the equipment, ergonomically-designed carts and equipment movers allow business owners to effectively reduce their workforce without taxing their workers.
Ergonomic equipment is designed to prevent the expensive and debilitating musculoskeletal injuries that plague manual pushing, pulling and lifting tasks. The introduction of ergonomic equipment and ergonomic practices into the workplace have been shown in countless studies to immediately reduce worker injury, decrease associated medical and insurance costs and improve worker morale and productivity.
To find out how ergonomically-designed equipment can help you maintain production values with a depleted workforce, talk to the ergonomic experts at DJ Products.
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