Advancing Your Ergonomics Program through Partnership
In the March/April issue of Sanitation Canada I wrote about a process used in the Housekeeping Department at Homewood Health Centre to reduce Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD).
The approach was to provide our employees the opportunity to learn how to prevent MSD injuries by understanding the importance of taking personal responsibility for their own well-being through exercise and healthy lifestyle.
Another essential aspect of an effective and proactive MSD program is to complete a detailed ergonomic assessment of the essential tasks and tools employees use to complete the jobs that have been flagged potentially high risk.
Understanding how to identify MSD hazards through ergonomic assessments may be an overwhelming task, and in many situations individuals may not understand how to identify MSD hazards, or simply may not agree on their cause. In such cases, it is beneficial to bring in an individual with more training and knowledge, such as an experienced Ergonomist.
Ergonomists can provide a wide range of services to companies looking to start the process of MSD prevent, or guide an existing initiative. Their education in injury hazard identification, injury causation, and solutions and containment methods enable them to assess jobs quickly and effectively. Considering that companies are legally required to take all precautions and steps possible to reduce MSD hazards in their workplace, this task cannot be taken lightly, and must be completed as efficiently and effectively as possible. An Ergonomists can help in this process by performing Physical Demands Assessments (PDA) or Ergonomic Risk Assessments on all jobs, or selected high risk jobs, in the workplace in order to identify areas of particular concern and needed improvements. They can also work with the appropriate parties in order to brainstorm, investigate, choose and implement the proper MSD hazard controls needed in the workspace, and in this way set the company on the right path towards MSD prevention.
While obtaining outside ergonomic consulting can greatly aid in an MSD prevention initiative, the costs of implementing this support on an organization-wide basis may be too costly to implement immediately, or a company may desire to use their existing staff to run their own MSD prevention program. This is a common situation, and there are a number of methods available to initiate and implement a program on a phased basis and still meet legislative requirements and guidelines. One such method is to create a partnership with an ergonomic consulting company that understands your company ergonomic strategy and is open to working with you on a long term basis.
Homewood Health Centre has been successful in establishing such a relationship by partnering with Options Inc., a Guelph-Ont.-based ergonomic consulting firm servicing Southwestern Ontario. This partnership has included completing ergonomic assessments in select high risk areas in order to better understand the risks and potential methods to contain and address them. To date this support has included evaluating such areas as nusing workstations, switchboard area, a variety of kitchen positions, laundry, garbage, nutrition carts, general and specific housekeeping tasks as well as to assist with return to work and job matching requirements.
The Housekeeping Department utilized the services of Options Inc. to identify ergonomic risks associated with each specific housekeeping task.
This information is used on an ongoing basis as a benchmark for modified work planning, equipment purchases, work design and ergonomic training.
We felt it was important to include front line staff in the assessment, as they are the individuals who perform the tasks and are faced with the risks of MSD.
We are now in the process of completing a review of furniture moving tasks in response to having identified these tasks as having inherent potential ergonomic concerns which makes them high-risk for onset of MSDs. A full summary of this project, including methods we have implemented to contain and address identified risks, will be presented in a future article.
Given both the high prevalence of MSD cases in Ontario workplaces, and the new prevention requirements placed on companies, it is evident that ergonomics must have a permanent place in every workplace. By partnering with properly trained specialists to develop a solid ergonomic program, workplaces will be able to satisfactorily reduce MSDs, and help build a healthier, more profitable organization.
If you are interested in learning more about how Ergonomic Programs or Services could benefit your facility, please contact Kirsti MacAulay at 1-800-813-4202 or visit the Options Inc. web site at www.oiweb.com.
