Sound Ergonomics
Prevent Injuries While Handling Heavy, Awkward Materials
BY BENJAMIN HARRIS
Ergonomics is the science concerned
with designing the workplace,
tools and equipment for
maximum efficiency, user comfort
and safety. The goal of ergonomics
is to maximize productivity without
compromising employee health.
This goal is accomplished by looking
specifically at how the human being
interacts with the physical work
environment and by improving upon
its design and function.
The goal of maximizing productivity
has always been intuitive
enough. Increased productivity typically
equates to increased profits and
a healthier bottom line. In the last two
decades however, the employee-health focus
of ergonomics has increased in significance,
particularly as the costs of employer
sponsored health insurance premiums and work injury claims have increased.
According to OSHA, manual materials
handling is the primary source of compensable
work injuries for the American
workforce. Furthermore, 80 percent of these injuries involve the lower back
and occur, at least in part, as a result
of bending forward at the waist.
When looking at the question,
“why do injuries occur?” it can be
said that all injuries ultimately occur
due to a breakdown in one or more
of four key areas; Biophysics, Ergonomics,
Education and Awareness.
While ergonomics is the focus
of this writing, a brief description of
the other areas is worthwhile.
Biophysics pertains to the physical
attributes every worker must
possess to be able to tolerate the
physical stresses of their jobs
without incurring injury.
Education relates to whether or not employees
have the knowledge and training to
perform the essential functions of their jobs
safely, and awareness is the ever-present consciousness around safety protocols and
procedures for the purpose of safety and
risk reduction.
For the facilities manager, safety in logistics
and materials handling departments,
like any other department, is a significant
concern. In these environments especially,
workers are frequently exposed to high
physical stresses. Whether it is lifting,
pushing, pulling or driving fork trucks,
these are workers that can be considered
“at-risk” simply by virtue of the stresses
they must endure.
Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in
2002, operators, fabricators and laborers accounted
for nearly 40 percent of all injuries
and illnesses. For the same time period, the
back was involved in 24 percent of all nonfatal
occupational injuries and illnesses, and
workers with back or neck injuries lost an
average of seven days of work.
The National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) has found that
back injuries cost the nation between $20
to $50 billion per year, and according to
American Safety Institute, back injuries account
for nearly 60 percent of all workers’ compensation costs. Also reported by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, sprains, strains
and tears account for nearly three quarters
of all the musculoskeletal disorders that
result in days away from work.
Given the scope of the problem, sound
ergonomics can certainly reduce work
place risk and help prevent injuries. To begin,
manual materials handling can be hazardous
simply due to the weight of
materials being moved. Very often objects
are simply too heavy or too large and cumbersome
for one person to move safely.
The simple solutions are to have two people
move these types of materials, reinforce
lifting mechanics and to use available
equipment to assist with these tasks.
Additionally, attaching handles to heavier,
cumbersome items makes lifting them
more manageable as well. Resources for
safe lifting parameters include the NIOSH
lifting equation, the American Conference
of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
(ACGIH) lifting tables, and the Snook and Ciriello Psychophysical tables.
Other common causes of injury with
manual materials handling are improper stacking, storing and securing of materials.
Prevention solutions in these situations primarily
include education and awareness
training, creation and enforcement of established
safety procedures, and the use of ergonomically
correct, safe, storage systems.
The use of personal protective equipment
is also a key piece in any safety and
ergonomics plan. For lifting, forearm,
wrist and hand protection should be worn
when working with loads that have sharp
edges. Safety shoes that provide protection
for the toes and instep areas of the feet
should also be worn.
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As part of the personal protective
equipment discussion, it is worth noting
that the use of low back support belts is
not research-supported. After completing
a systematic review of published, peer-reviewed,
scientific literature, NIOSH concluded
that there was insufficient evidence
for the use of low back support belts as an
effective means of preventing lifting related
low back injuries.
Additionally, while there is no concrete
evidence that using these belts is harmful,
there is some research showing that low back support belts can provide workers
with a false sense of security that leads to
their lifting of unsafe loads, exposing their
low backs to greater stress than can be
safely tolerated.
While the use of mechanical equipment
to move loads reduces the risk of sprains
and strains, it creates other risks. Pallet
jacks, fork trucks, cranes and hoists can all
be dangerous due to their weight alone.
There are also dangers relating to overloading
these tools with too much weight
and operating them at speed, particularly
fork trucks. Education and training in the
proper use of these types of equipment,
their load ratings and safe operating speeds
are therefore critical in mitigating risks associated
with their use.
As it pertains to forklifts specifically,
there are numerous at-risk joints associated
with using this piece of equipment in particular.
Among them are the low back,
neck and shoulder. For the low back, the
prolonged sitting associated with driving
truck is a high-risk task. Sitting is inherently
a position of being subtly bent forward
at the waist, and when the added stress of repeatedly driving over jarring
dock plates in some environments is
considered, the potential for low back
problems is increased.
Ergonomic solutions for the low back
include the use of supplemental lumbar
support in the fork truck’s seat, and ensuring
the seat is adjusted to an appropriate
distance from the steering wheel, gas and
brake pedals.
Another strategy for minimizing low
back pain is requiring periodic breaks that
involve getting off the forklift, walking
around for two to three minutes, and performing
8 to 10 standing back bends with
the palms of the hands positioned on the
upper portion of the buttocks.
This simple exercise goes a long way towards
mitigating the negative effect of prolonged
sitting and driving. As is the case
with the low back, perhaps the most important
ergonomic intervention for the neck
and shoulder is ensuring the seat is not too
far away from the steering wheel. If too far
away the operator will have to reach further
forward with his arms, and crane his
neck forward to reach the steering wheel.
Prolonged forward head positioning, also
a common problem for computer users,
puts undue stress on the joints and discs in
the neck and leads to neck pain.
Finally, materials handling encompasses a myriad of
situations and work environments. Just as there are
many risk factors associated with such a broad
spectrum of variables, there are many opportunities
for reducing risk via ergonomic intervention. Among
the most valuable assets that can be used to
identify ergonomic risk are employees. After all,
who better to point out hazards, trouble zones and
work factors that cause pain than the people
performing the high tasks and functions? Employees
are amongst the most valuable assets any company has
and should always be an integral part of safety,
ergonomic and prevention strategies.
FSM
Benjamin Harris
is a licensed physical
therapist, operates out-patient orthopedic
rehab centers in Washington State, and
specializes in at-the-job site injury prevention,
ergonomics and ergonomic management.
For more information about him and
this topic, visit www.injuryfree.com/safety .
