Save Money, Invest in Your Employees

MAKE-IT-SAFE MONDAY

Injuries in the workplace happen every day.  According to the National Safety Council (NSC) the most common kind of workplace injury is overexertion.  This includes injuries related to pulling, lifting, pushing, holding, carrying, and throwing activities at work.

Overexertion is not only the most common type of workplace injury, but it is also the most expensive for employers.  The injuries are often classified as acute, meaning that they aren't that serious and will go away after preventive action takes place.  The sad truth is that many people don’t take these preventative actions and end up overexerting the same part again and again allowing the injury to become a chronic one.  This repetitive overexertion without preventative action is the cause for the most common type of workplace injury.

The most common part of the body that ends up with a chronic injury is the back.  People often lift heavy or awkwardly shaped objects and if they lift improperly or repetitively it can lead to serious back injuries.  Some quick hints and guidelines for avoiding injury would be to have proper lifting posture and if the object is to heavy have someone help you.

A way to avoid lifting an object off the ground would be to have a mechanical lift of some sort.  A lift will allow the worker to move and lift the object without having to bend down and potentially hurt their back.  A mechanical lift could also make the workplace more efficient allowing workers to lift heavier loads by themselves and move them with ease.  Mechanical lifts are not the cheapest things, but if you compare the cost of workers compensation to the mechanical lift, the lifts are not that bad, especially after adding the money saved through the efficiency gained in the workplace.

Bottom line is the overexertion of the back is a very common injury in the workplace and precautions should be in place to avoid workers getting hurt.

Thank you for your time and attention. Let’s make it safe this Monday.

Dale Bromenshenkel
Demand Generation Specialist, Lift’n Buddy, a Southworth Company