MAKE-IT-SAFE MONDAY
It is the week of Thanksgiving and that means one thing, we are
all going to eat a lot, for a long time, and go back for multiple servings of
that delicious Thanksgiving meal. What does this have to do with safety you may
ask? Well when it comes to musculoskeletal injuries in the workplaces the three
main factors all have striking similarities to a delicious Thanksgiving meal.
Magnitude, duration, and frequency result in the loosening of your belt during Thanksgiving and are the leading causes of musculoskeletal injuries. While
overdoing it during Thanksgiving is an acceptable tradition, exceeding your
limits in the workplace is a major problem and needs to be avoided.
To ensure safety in the workplace, today’s Thanksgiving week
Make-It-Safe Monday will examine the “Extent of Exposure” and review how to
stay safe. To take extent of exposure into account, consider questions:
·
What is the magnitude of the exposure?
o
For example, how much force is needed
or how severe is the awkward posture?
o
Limit lifting objects that are too
heavy, are awkward to lifting and have large lifting ranges
·
How long (total time) is the worker exposed to the risk?
o
For example, is the worker exposed
to the risk for a full shift, or for two hours?
o
Long periods of lifting or exposure
should be limited, especially if at high magnitude
·
How frequently is the worker exposed to the risk?
o
For example, is the task repeated
many times each shift, or does it occur only occasionally?
A Risk Assessment should also consider the following:
·
What is the combined effect of all the identified risk
factors?
o
For example, lifting heavy objects
from the floor to a height above the shoulders several times a minute poses a greater
risk than lifting the same objects between the knee and waist level
infrequently.
In order to limit injury, lost time, lost productivity, and
compensation costs it is important to limit the magnitude, duration, and
frequency of workplace procedures. Endless stats and facts can be found on the
cost of workplace injuries to businesses which is why I include a friendly
reminder that devices that aid in ergonomics in the workplaces can result in
large savings in the long run. Equipment such as the Lift’n Buddy (www.liftnbuddy.com) can aid in all areas of “Extent of Exposure” in the workplace.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hope you
all a safe week.
Demand Generation Specialist
Joe Wheatley
Thank you for your time and attention. Let's make it safe this Monday.
Aaron M. Lamb
President, Ergologistics
Aaron M. Lamb
President, Ergologistics