MAKING
ERGONOMICS WORK
(sources: University of Utah ERGOWEB
and 3M Corporation)
Ken Thomas, Wausau Insurance Company's home-office
ergonomist, reports that claim costs more than doubled
for materials handling (back injuries) from 1986
to 1990. Between 1990 and 1994, however, those costs
have been reduced by two-thirds. For repetitive
motion injury claims, costs also doubled over the
same period, before dropping by about 50% from the
high point in 1989. |
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Thomas
cites recent ergonomics training programs as one
of the reasons for the dramatic drop in claims.
The following points should comprise the objectives
of your ergonomics program:
- Occupational
Injury and Illness Reduction
- Workers'
Compensation Cost Containment
- Productivity
Improvement
- Work
Quality Improvement
-
Absenteeism Reduction
- Government
Regulation Compliance
The
Methods By Which These Goals Are Attained Include:
- Analysis/evaluation
of work site risk factors
- Recommendation
of engineering/administrative controls to reduce
existing work site risk conditions
- Intervention
- rearranging workstations, acquiring new equipment
and/or furniture, redefining tasks and reorganizing
work as per recommendations
- Medical
management - working with plant management or
corporate medical departments to establish a
process for reporting and dealing with ergonomic
issues and for returning recovering employees
to work
- Education
of management and workers to risk conditions
- Measurement
and evaluation - with measurable results in
hand, management is in a position to evaluate
and refine the program
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