Ergo Solutions

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 1.2 million injury cases requiring days away from work in 2006. The most significant contributing factor in this number was musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) across every major industry sector. This costs U.S. employers as much as 54 billion dollars annually. Successful companies find innovative ways to improve their bottom line. One way to do this is by reducing musculoskeletal injuries and in turn, lost work time. Many people think that ergonomic solutions are expensive. Often times, simple modifications and education can decrease the risk of performing a task. In other circumstances, the cost of work environment modifications is significantly less than the cost of a single MSD injury.

One local company had an alarming number of work-related MSD injuries throughout the facility. This increase of musculo-skeletal injuries resulted in greater workers' compensation costs, loss of productivity, service interruptions, and management distractions. The WORKSENSE staff of physical therapists and ergonomic specialists teamed up with management in 2001 to implement a proactive program to decrease the work-related musculoskeletal injuries. This problem did not develop overnight and in turn; it is not resolved after showing a simple videotape on safe lifting techniques. It takes management leadership, employee participation and the ability to change or evolve the current employee health and safety program. The plant manager and safety manager realized that it would take a coordinated effort from management and WORKSENSE to develop and maintain a successful injury management safety program. As a result of their partnership with WORKSENSE, the company has been able to reduce their work related MSDs by 85% and decrease their lost work time to 0. This provides a safer work environment and a cost effective solution to musculoskeletal injuries.

WORKSENSE has implemented many onsite, early intervention ergonomic and work-conditioning programs to proactively battle work-related musculoskeletal injuries. This is accomplished by analyzing high-risk jobs and symptomatic employees followed by recommendations for procedure changes, engineering changes, or work habit changes. When appropriate, the onsite work-conditioning program can increase an employee's physical capability to safely meet the physical demands of the job.