In a cost-benefit analysis of ergonomics in hospital laundries, musculoskeletal injuries decreased and “88% of the workers felt the changes made their work better,” according to the report conducted by the School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. When you’re watching every dollar in a tight economy, cutting workplace injury and it associated hefty healthcare and insurance costs can give your bottom line a real boost.Implementing ergonomic solutions like DJ Products’ cart puller to workplace problems provides the added advantage of increasing employee morale. When employees are happy, productivity, efficiency, quality and customer service improve right along with employee satisfaction. You benefit, and equally important, your customers benefit. It’s the ultimate win-win scenario.In the two-year Canadian study of three laundries, both laundries that implemented ergonomic improvements and trained employees in ergonomic practices enjoyed a marked decrease in worker injury and unexpected escalation in employee job satisfaction. No changes in injury rate or employee psychosocial factors were noted in the control laundry which made no changes. The benefit-to-cost ratios for the two test laundries were 0.97 and 1.5, “demonstrating a one-year or less payback on ergonomic improvements,” the study reported.In addition to medical/insurance savings, the greatest returns on investment were reported “in productivity and savings in overtime, turnover and return-to-work costs,” study authors noted. The incidence of medical costs and lost man-hours dropped from 48.8% to just 18.6% over the two-year study. The boon to workers was even more extraordinary. Questionnaires asked employees to assess how implemented ergonomic improvements had impacted their jobs:
- 70% reported that ergonomic improvements made their jobs less physically demanding
- 69% said they were less tired
- 75% noted less muscle soreness
- 75% said their job was now more interesting and more varied
- 93% said they felt happier and more satisfied about their job
DJ Products’ highly maneuverable motorized cart pushers and cart pullers are specifically designed to meet the needs of hospitals and healthcare facilities. The CartCaddyShorty electric cart puller can maneuver heavy laundry carts, food trays or diagnostic equipment from 3,000 to 20,000 pounds. Our flatbed powered cart puller allows easy movement of materials, parts or machinery by a single operator.Our smallest caddies are designed for lighter loads and exceptional maneuverability in challenging settings. The CartCaddyLite electric cart puller can manage loads up to 1,000 pounds and is easy to manipulate when maneuvering in constrained spaces like equipment-filled hospital rooms. Excellent response from easy to handle ergonomic controls also assures instant response when negotiating heavily-trafficked hospital corridors.For complete information about DJ Products’ ergonomically designed cart pullers and pusher for hospitals and the healthcare industry, visit our website.