Tag: safety

MHIA Launches New Overhead Group

With a plethora of fatal crane accidents peppering the news this year, crane and hoist manufacturers are taking some safety cues from their ergonomically-savvy brethren in the material handling industry. Joining with the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) to form the just-launched Overhead Alliance (OA) group, crane, hoist and monorail industry organizations will be promoting alternative methods of lifting and moving materials that reduce accidents, improve workplace health and safety, reduce product damage, improve workflow, lower costs and reduce environmental impact.

Focusing the combined resources of the Crane Manufacturers Association of America (CMAA), Hoist Manufacturers Institute (HMI) and Monorail Manufacturers Association (MMA), OA will give these affiliated trade associations a common voice within the material handling community. Over the next year, OA plans to launch a campaign promoting safer, healthier, greener alternatives to traditional lift trucks for lifting and moving materials, including the use of bridge, gantry and jib cranes and hoists. Not only are lift trucks notorious gas guzzlers, they account for the majority of serious and fatal material handling accidents.

OA will make its national debut at MHIA’s ProMat international exposition in January 2009 where it plans to emphasize the “lean and green” (i.e. ergonomic and energy efficient) benefits of overhead lifting to handle materials. Safe procedures for manual handling and ergonomic lifting that are designed to improve workplace safety and protect workers’ health are also on OA’s promotion agenda.

Material handling equipment that minimizes manual lifting and carrying prevents injuries. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that back injuries, primarily from improper lifting and carrying of light loads, cost American businesses $10 to $14 billion in workers’ compensation costs and nearly 100 million work days annually.

A world-leader in the production of ergonomic carts for moving and lifting material and equipment, DJ Products manufactures ergonomically-designed, energy-efficient electric and battery-powered cart pullers, pushers and scissors lifts. Already “lean and green,” DJ Products material handling equipment is built to be energy-efficient while maximizing the health and safety of your workers. Visit our website for complete information on DJ Products equipment for manufacturers, warehouses, logistics centers, retailers, hospitals and the hospitality industry.

Practical Benefits of Ergonomics

For American industry and business, the practical benefits of ergonomics are multi-fold. Upgrading your business with ergonomically-designed power mover decreases both the frequency and severity of workplace injuries. This decreases medical costs, disability insurance payments and absenteeism related to injury and recovery time. But there are significant benefits to choosing ergonomic equipment that go beyond the more obvious concerns with your bottom line.

By recognizing the importance of your employees’ health, safety and comfort through the installation of ergonomically-designed equipment, you place an emphasis on the quality of their worklife. The result is an increase in productivity, increase in morale and decrease in absenteeism that will improve both your profitability and ability to compete. Here’s how:

  • A company that shows it values its workers engenders good morale. Where morale is high, absenteeism is low. A satisfied workforce gives a company a significant competitive edge. When a company demonstrates concern for their employees’ well being, employees return the favor.

  • As tough economic conditions force many businesses to downsize and function with smaller staffs, the contribution of each individual worker becomes more valuable. Absenteeism puts an unfair burden on your entire workforce. Ergonomic equipment decreases absenteeism from injury and recovery, increasing productivity.

  • In an 8-hour shift, the average worker spends about 1.5 to 2.5 hours on breaks and non-job activities. Equipment that is frustrating or fatiguing to use results in more frequent breaks. Adaptable, easy-to-operate ergonomic equipment improves comfort and reduces fatigue. This allows workers to comfortably stay on the job longer, decreasing downtime. In a workforce of 100 employees averaging $12 per hour, just 5 more minutes of productive time per worker per day can add up to $50,000 annually (not considering overhead).

By recognizing the importance of ergonomics in the workplace, businesses can build worker morale, leading to an increase in efficiency, productivity and profitability.

Use Handy Calculator to Determine Your Ergonomic Needs

In our last few posts we’ve been talking about the importance of ergonomics in creating both a safe and healthy work environment and the benefits that can provide to your business. Ergonomically-designed equipment decreases the frequency and severity of workplace injuries, medical costs and disability payments, and absenteeism, while increasing employee morale, efficiency and productivity, and profitability.

With so many benefits, it pays a company to invest in ergonomically-designed equipment, but how can you determine your ergonomic needs? DJ Products provides a useful Ergonomic Load Calculator on our website. The calculator is designed to estimate the amount of horizontal force necessary to move wheeled loads in various workplace environments.

Easy to use, our calculator takes you through a series of questions regarding floor condition, terrain, footing, equipment condition, equipment configuration, use of assembly line when applicable, and load weight to determine the required force to move an average load. A second series of questions factors in human performance qualifiers such as proposed worker, frequency and distance each load will be moved, whether loads are pushed or pulled, and handle height. Using mathematic formulas, a Human Performance Capability is calculated that provides an ergonomic estimate of the amount of force that a single worker should apply to move the load. Calculations are provided for both initiating and sustaining equipment motion. A comparison of the calculated equipment force to the ergonomic limit of force allows ergonomists, health and safety officers, and other professionals to accurately evaluate the ergonomic needs of a company.

The program also offers helpful suggestions that can be used to improve workplace safety. For example, an ergonomic evaluation of a manually-wheeled pull-cart might recommend a specific caster size to reduce initiation force or improve pivoting. It might recommend a maximum weight load for the equipment being evaluated. It is always recommended that ergonomic solutions be immediately implemented wherever force exceeds capacity to prevent worker injury.

Electric Carts Ease Strain of Push-Pull Tasks

Pushing and pulling are the two most required actions in industrial and business settings. Unfortunately, pushing and pulling can place extreme stress on a worker’s body, often resulting in back, groin and other musculoskeletal injuries. Injuries can cost an individual business thousands of dollars each year in medical, insurance, disability and lost man-hour costs. An ergonomically designed electric cart pusher and motorized cart puller eliminates the physical strain of manually pushing and pulling heavy carts and wheeled equipment. An investment in ergonomic equipment is a sound investment in the health and safety of your workforce that can save your business thousands of dollars in unnecessary medical and insurance costs.

In manufacturing and distribution settings, the most common solutions to material handling tasks are:

  • to place products, parts and equipment on pallets for handling or
  • to utilize racks, carts and casters to move materials.

Electric carts come in a variety of shapes, sizes and configurations to fit the demands of the task and the capabilities of your workforce. An ergonomically-designed cart mover reduces the amount of force that must be exerted by the operator to maneuver a load. Various cart and wheel configurations are available to meet the needs of any task.

  • Carts, racks or equipment with casters can be easily turned and maneuvered with a CartCaddy power tug that feature a 5th wheel turning method.
  • Carts, racks or equipment with 4 swiveling casters require a cart with back end control.
  • Specialized CartCaddies and an electric tug have been designed to handle carts or equipment that have straight wheels or are on a rail.

Visit the DJ Products website to view our complete line of ergonomic electric carts, trucks and lifts. We offer ergonomic solutions for material handling applications.

Pushing vs Pulling Manual Carts

Pushing and pulling are the two most frequent actions workers execute in the course of doing their jobs. So in maneuvering manual carts, which is easier for the worker and creates less risk of injury — pushing or pulling?

Experts say pushing is preferable to pulling for a number of reasons. Research has demonstrated that people are able to exert higher push forces than pull forces. Given that horizontal push force, not the weight of the load or equipment, is the most significant factor in determining the effort required to move a load, that’s a significant consideration in selecting equipment.

Think of what happens to the body when you push something. Your entire body is used to create push force. In pushing an object, your body is more centered which allows you to concentrate force. Limbs are generally held closer to the body, limiting the possibility of extension injuries.

Pulling on the other hand, creates tremendous stress on individual body parts. When you pull an object and you are facing the direction of travel, one arm is stretched behind your body. This places the shoulder and back in awkward postures, increasing the potential for painful injury through overextension or awkward twisting. If you use two hands to pull an object you must have your back to the direction of travel. Walking backwards without a clear view of your path is an invitation to an accident. On an incline momentum can increase unexpectedly and the cart can careen into the worker or “run over” his feet.

There are times when pulling is the only way to maneuver a manual cart into the proper position, but at all other times pulling should be avoided. Pushing is the safer, more ergonomic way to move a manual cart.

Handhold Design Can Improve Worker Efficiency

Most carts have handholds of one sort or another. Handles are such an ordinary part of everyday equipment that it’s easy to ignore their importance in efficient equipment use. But handholds are the link between the operator and the load. Handholds cue the operator on how much force to exert and where to apply it most effectively to move the load. Handhold placement and design on carts can increase or decrease the ease and efficiency with which a worker moves a load.

In evaluating the usefulness of a cart, consider these important elements of handhold design:

  • Handhold Height. Handhold height defines the operator’s posture, and posture determines the amount of force a person is able to generate when moving a cart. Given the difference in human size, no single handhold height will be optimal for all workers. Handholds that cause operators to bend or stoop can lead to musculoskeletal injuries. When handholds are located at the proper height for an individual’s body, he is able to exert maximum force without straining his body. An adjustable handhold system will accommodate workers of various sizes. Other solutions include a continuous vertical handhold system that can be grasped at any point along its length or a series of handholds at varying heights.
  • Handhold Width. Handholds should allow the operator to grip the cart near its outer edge to provide maximum leverage for turning and positioning. However it’s important that hands, fingers or arms not protrude beyond the side of the cart to prevent crushing injuries should the cart come in contact with a wall or other equipment.
  • Handhold Type. The type of handhold can dramatically affect the amount of force an operator is able to exert when maneuvering a cart. Poor coupling, the contact between hands and equipment, can decrease the force an operator can exert by 65%. Handhold shape should not concentrate pressure on any specific area of the hand. There should be no sharp edges or pronounced ridges. Both the palm of the hand and the fingers should be able to contact the handhold which should be wide enough to accommodate the entire hand.
    Note: Pulling tasks require a handhold that can be gripped with the fingers wrapping around the handle. Pushing tasks need only a good surface that provides stable hand/equipment coupling.

Ergonomics Can Significantly Decrease Worker Injuries

Material handlers and laborers suffer more injuries and illnesses than construction workers, truck drivers or, indeed, any other category of workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Material handlers and laborers miss more work days and therefore cost U.S. businesses more money in lost man-hours and higher insurance and healthcare costs than any other worker class.

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. Back pain is by far the most commonly reported workplace injury in the material handling industry. Treatment is generally lengthy and expensive, gobbling up the lion’s share of healthcare and workers’ compensation costs.

The implementation of an ergonomics program can significantly reduce injuries and their associated costs while improving productivity and worker morale. The Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) has published a 68-page booklet of tips for improving ergonomics in the material handling industry. Click this link to download MHIA’s free Ergonomic Guidelines for Manual Material Handling. For more information on ergonomically-designed electric and motorized carts, pushers and tuggers, visit the DJ Products website.

Next time we’ll share some of MHIA’s best tips for improving ergonomics in the material handling industry and reducing worker injury and its associated costs.

Electric Tuggers Improve Ergonomics in Material Handling

Improving the ergonomics of material handling decreases worker injuries, improves workplace efficiency and leads to a healthier bottom line. Medical costs, insurance premiums, workers’ compensation payments and lost man-hours soar when ergonomics are ignored. Material handling is one of the most injury-intensive industries, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Every effort you make to fit the demands of work tasks to the capabilities of your workers (i.e., ergonomics) will decrease costs and ultimately improve profit margins.Material handling requires many actions that can result in serious and expensive musculoskeletal injuries. Repetitive motions, awkward postures and the application of force as workers lift, push, pull, carry and handle materials create daily opportunities for injury. Attention to ergonomics in designing tasks, workspaces and equipment can dramatically decrease the physical demands and injury potential of many material handling activities.Carrying and lifting are the two actions that present the greatest potential for worker injury when handling materials. Today we’ll address tips for ergonomic carrying; on Friday, we’ll share tips for lifting ergonomically.Carrying tasks place stress on the back and shoulders and create contact pressure on the shoulders and hands. When repeatedly strained or overstressed, the effort and force needed to carry materials can cause injury. To decrease injuries caused by carrying, follow these suggestions:

  • Eliminate unnecessary carrying.
  • Minimize the distances materials must be carried and use electric tuggers to carry materials over longer distances.
  • Organize work tasks so that physical demands and work pace increase gradually as muscles warm up.
  • Rotate workers or alternate carrying with non-carrying tasks to prevent overstraining the body and give muscles a chance to rest between efforts.
  • Wear properly fitting gloves to improve grip stability.
  • Reduce load weights and test loads for stability and balance before carrying.
  • Slide, push or roll materials. These actions place less stress on the body than carrying.
  • Use conveyors, slides or chutes to move materials.
  • Use electric tuggers to transport heavy loads.

Is Absenteeism Hurting Your Bottom Line?

The nation’s 300 largest employers reported in a 2007 survey by research firm CCH Inc. that absenteeism costs their businesses more than a quarter million dollars annually in direct payroll costs. Add in lost revenue from lower productivity and unscheduled absences can have a significant negative impact on a business’ bottom line. In these recessionary times, absenteeism can make already slim profits disappear.

Only a third of all work absences are due to illness, said Susan Frear, director of education for the Dallas office of the Society for Human Resource Management. “The rest of the absences are related to having to be someplace else or they just don’t feel like coming in. So a lot has to do with the culture of the place.”

Changes in management style or corporate procedures can make a significant difference in absenteeism rates. “Take a hard look at the climate,” suggests Barb Ashbaugh, owner of Ashbaugh’s Trade Secret, a performance management company. Authoritarian managers “who make employees feel it’s their way or the highway” cause higher levels of absenteeism, Ashbaugh noted. Companies that count “occurrences” instead of individual days absent encourage employees to sneak in a couple of extra days off, warned Nancy Glube, an Atlanta human resources executive.

Retail giant J.C. Penney Co. is trying a new approach that shows promise for both large and small businesses. With 1,500 workers calling in “sick” and another 1,200 out on disability each day, Penney executives were concerned about the impact of growing absenteeism rates on the company’s profit margin. This fall they began project PowerLine. When an employee is absent for 3 days, the PowerLine team swings into action. They communicate with the employee to determine the nature of the absence and whether the employee qualifies for health insurance, workers’ compensation or short-term disability benefits. The team notifies store and department managers and insurance carriers and sends the employee the appropriate forms to complete. Daily absenteeism rates have dropped dramatically.

What has made the PowerLine program so successful in such a short time is the constant follow-up that continues until the employee returns to work. “I’ve found that when someone goes out on disability, that person undergoes a significant event in their life,” said Penney’s benefit manager Jim Cuva, “and if no one checks on them to see how they’re doing, they could stay out longer than necessary.” The PowerLine program is Penney’s way of “letting them know we care.”

Employees who know they’re valued work harder, are more productive and are absent less frequently. Making the effort to create a positive work environment can positively impact your bottom line. On Monday, we’ll talk about how implementing ergonomic practices in your workplace can improve worker morale, decrease worker injury and boost your bottom line.

Is OSHA Underreporting Injuries?

At a recent Congressional hearing, critics charged that OSHA is underreporting injuries. In questioning the competence of the federal agency designated to protect the health and safety of American workers, critics cited several independent studies, contending that nearly half of all workplace injuries go unreported to OSHA.

Independent studies cited both reviewed the impact of changes to OSHA’s injury-reporting rules and compared injury data reported to OSHA by employers with that reported to state workers’ compensation plans. In one study, a Michigan State University professor of medicine noted that while workplace fatalities have not declined over the years, reported injuries have declined significantly. He found the data suspect. According to the professor, a decline in injuries should have resulted in a similar decline in fatalities. 

The significant data discrepancies between OSHA and state worker’s compensation plans were attributed to numerous possible causes, including the underreporting of injuries to employers by immigrant workers concerned about job retention, reclassification of workers by employers into non-reporting job descriptions, managers discouraging injury reporting, and several other causes. Reports came just shy of charging employer fraud, criticizing OSHA for relying solely on employer statistics.

OSHA defended its reporting procedures, pointing out that in addition to employer submitted data, each year its agents conduct 250 record-keeping audits of employers. OSHA said audits indicate that 90% of employer-submitted data on injuries and illness is accurate. Defending OSHA before the House Committee on Education and Labor, OSHA assistant secretary Edwin Foulke, Jr. said, “In Fiscal Year 2008, of the almost 57,000 violations issued so far, 80% have been categorized as serious, willful, repeat or failure-to-abate, the highest percentage ever recorded by the agency. We are also effectively targeting our inspections.” While Foulke noted that violations were found on 78% of the construction worksites inspected this year, he contended that OSHA’s diligence is responsible for the lowest workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities in U.S. history.