Thought Bytes...
April/May 2005

Ergonomics in the workplace: are your practices paltry, piecemeal, project or program? Part One looks at Paltry and Piecemeal ergonomics.

[This unabridged article was originally written by me and published in Canadian Occupational Safety Magazine in Autumn 2004].

Ergonomics: Paltry, Piecemeal, Project or Program

Where is your company on the continuum of ergonomics applications? Few companies have never heard of ergonomics, but some definitely are trying to ignore it. Many deal with ergonomics only when there is a specific issue. A few consider applying ergonomics within a department on the initiative of a manager if there is enough money in the budget. Even fewer include ergonomics as a corporate standard.

One way to determine where your company lies is to look at who initiates any ergonomics changes. Is it the worker, the supervisor, the manager or the executives?

Paltry -- initiated by the workers

At the ACME Manufacturing Company, workers like Joe feel that they have to take responsibility for their own well being. The supervisors are completely unsympathetic to the workers' complaints -- after all, they (the supervisors) worked their way up the ladder without hurting themselves, didn’t they? So, why can't the workers just do the job? To these employees, pain on the job becomes part of the normal workday. The managers and executives consider the high WCB rates an unavoidable part of operating expenses.

Some of the workers talk at lunch or after work at the pub about their complaints. Joe learned from Bob how to treat some of his aches and pains. Sam had been surfing the Internet with his son and found some great sites selling everything from back belts to vitamins to treat back pain. They all decided to buy some products because the web site assured them that their products would prevent injuries.

Mary tried wrapping her hand tools with hockey tape to make them fit better into her hand. Her co-workers didn't think it was right to change the tools. After all, if the company provided the tools, the workers thought, the company must have thought that the tools would work for the job.

When Frankie went to the doctor about her shoulder pain, she was told to file a Workers' Compensation claim. She didn't want to do that because she was afraid for her job if she drew attention to herself. Eventually she couldn't stand the pain anymore and quit her job. By then her injury was so bad that she had to take a long break to heal (with no income) before starting to look for another job.

What to do next?

• Workers need to work with the Joint Health & Safety committee to identify jobs that are causing discomfort. Then the workers can work on one job at a time to find simple ways to improve the job.
• Supervisors need to provide the workers with information on musculoskeletal injuries. Armed with correct information, the workers will be able to identify problematic jobs and start to take care of their bodies.
• Managers need to understand that catching injuries early is the best way to prevent lost time claims. Often management don't know there is a problem until someone brings it forward.
• Executives need to spend time on the shop floor paired with workers, learning how the jobs are done. Fresh eyes may see ways to improve efficiency and productivity while reducing physical stressors.

Piecemeal -- initiated by the supervisors

AllThePower Utilities Ltd. is typical of most company's approach to ergonomics. The management recognizes that workers are getting injured but only deal with the problem once the injuries have happened. Jim reported to his supervisor, Suzanne, that his back was sore. Suzanne told him that he would need a doctor's note before she could authorize any modifications such as a chair or keyboard tray. Because the purchasing department didn't have any guidelines they relied on pictures and descriptions in catalogues to try to find a chair that would work for Jim. They bought a chair that was labelled "ergonomic" but Jim still continued to have discomfort.

When dealing with ergonomics issues on a piecemeal basis, there is a common trend to view ergonomics as an expense. After all, it costs money to buy fancy chairs that don't always solve the problem. Lack of expertise in making changes perpetuates the idea that ergonomics is expensive and doesn't always work. Lack of documentation means that there is little correlation between lower productivity and comfort of the worker. The main concern with WCB claims is the length of time required completing the documentation. While there may be some recognition that making changes to the workplace could reduce the number and severity of WCB claims but there is no support for including money in the budget.

Workers in this kind of organization are aware of the some issues around ergonomics but tend to be frustrated by lack of action by their employer. The Joint Health and Safety committee members leave pamphlets in the lunchroom about musculoskeletal injuries, but there is no financial support to make improvements to the workstations.

What to do next?

• Workers need to look at the changes from the company's perspective. The company is always concerned about the bottom line. So, the workers have to show how the changes they think they need will improve their productivity and efficiency. They need to quantify how valuable they are to the employer and how the lack of proper equipment cost the employer more than the changes would.
• Supervisors trying to help their workers are constrained by the corporate policies and lack of information. The supervisors need to meet (in a confidential forum) to discuss the problems presented to them. Then they can discuss solutions that have worked and create a list of problem-solving products. A qualified Ergonomist could help them to identify suitable products to deal with common problems and to outline for the supervisors when to apply them.
• Managers need to start looking at the costs of poor ergonomics. Where are the bottlenecks in the process? Are the workers being used to the best of their capabilities? If they could save 5% of the WCB costs, how would they use the money to improve the processes?
• Executives need to create an award for workers' ideas for improving processes. Reward ingenuity. Make sure there is money in the budget for an ergonomics committee to inform workers of simple modifications that improved the worker and corporate well-being.

Next month: This article continues to look at Ergonomics projects and programs.

Home | Services | About ErgoSum | Contact