We at TCOHR have watched as employer efforts to prevent and reduce ergonomic injuries fall to the wayside for various reasons. Effective prevention methods such as stretching and bio-mechanics training tend to lose momentum as a program “champion” changes their work-shift or grows weary of the “added work” of prompting their team to remain active in such programs. Budget cuts, production schedule demands and many other reasons, all take their toll on these good intention efforts.
Most recently, we have been encouraging employers to form short-term strategic ergonomic working groups within one or more targeted areas of the workplace. These small working groups may be comprised of only the safety manager, a manager or supervisor of the area being targeted, and an employee representative of that area.
While recommendations and outcomes may be reported to an employer’s safety committee, the focus of the group is to quickly identify and modify the targeted area to have a rapid impact.
Useful tools may include:
• Pre-work screens to ensure that new employees can perform necessary tasks and learn or review proper bio-mechanics for the job that they will be performing