Supervisor: Set up a follow-up meeting with employee to review report within days of report receipt as soon as possible. At minimum, review recommended work practice changes to be performed by employee. Review recommended equipment and other actions needed.
Assure employee understands purpose of new equipment and why it is recommended for use. Supervisor and Employee: Once employee and supervisor concur on plan of action, sign report together and provide a copy to employee for their records as per your ergo policy. Verbally confirm employee understands their responsibility in using their equipment effectively. Be realistic with employee about what to expect next time frame for implementation of facility, IT and purchasing actions. Discuss any conflicts or concerns regarding.
Assure ancillary ergo team support know their implementation role: Facility Actions: responsible party. Purchasing Actions: responsible party. IT Actions: responsible party. Purchasing: Order recommended products. Additional actions may be required after product is received to assure proper installation.
Install all items as recommended. Supervisor: Ancillary team to notify of implementation. Follow-up with employee within 5 to 10 days to confirm receipt of all products and if they need additional help with new items.
Confirm compliance with employee safe work practices. Employee: If available, employee should complete a post evaluation online self-assessment. Denis Burkitt, Medical Researcher. The reactive approach places an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff and waits for people to develop pain and dysfunction of their movement system, and then employs passive treatment methods like drugs, injections, and surgery that do not address MSD risk factors or root causes.
Landing at the bottom of the cliff is PAINFUL, and the so-called remedies offered by the medical treatment industry often fall short of providing a complete restoration of function. This is the best way to keep people safe, and is by far the best way to manage MSD. The best way to prevent MSD is to build a strong fence by staying well and fit for the work you have chosen.
There is no single cause of MSD! This is not the best prevention strategy. A comprehensive approach to prevention is required to prevent these injuries to the musculoskeletal system.
The only way to prevent something is to know what caused it, understand what caused it, and then eliminate those causes. What causes MSDs? The answer to this question lays the foundation for an effective MSD prevention strategy. We need to know what the risk factors for MSD are — in order to build a strong and effective fence that will keep us safe.
There are many factors that can lead to movement system fatigue. Some of these factors include fluid loss and dehydration, poor blood circulation, poor muscle fitness levels, micro wear and tear on muscles from intense exertion, depletion of glycogen fuel needed for muscle contraction , and an accumulation lactate or lactic acid in the muscles and other soft tissues.
The by-product of burning gasoline is fumes which contain a toxic gas called carbon monoxide. In much the same way, the engine of the human movement system, the muscles, also burn fuel glycogen to do work like moving and holding things. Over time, if this lactic acid accumulation persists frequently enough in the soft tissues, muscle fatigue, inflammation, muscle tightness contracture , and movement system imbalance and dysfunction will result.
If your movement system is exposed to risk factors and fatigue outruns recovery over the course of days, weeks, months, or years… a musculoskeletal imbalance is formed that eventually develops into an MSD. You can see movement system health steadily declining in the graph above reflecting the imbalance. Workplace ergonomic risk factors such as awkward postures, excessive forces, and high task repetition, especially in combination, can certainly place workers at increased risk of developing an MSD.
In most cases, individual risk factors such as poor work practices, poor physical fitness levels, and poor health habits play a significant part in the development of an MSD. The more risk factors you are exposed to, the higher your likelihood is to develop a musculoskeletal imbalance and eventually an MSD. So now that we understand what an MSD is and what causes them, we can start to put our prevention strategy in place.
On the left, in the reactive approach, your body is exposed to risk factors and health is declining. Ergonomic controls are put in place to reduce ergonomic risk factors: excessive force, awkward postures, and high repetition. When you recognize ergonomic risk factors, please do let us know. These controls include warming up for work, staying fit and healthy, and using good work practices and technique.
When comprehensive control measures are proactively put in place — meaning both ergonomic and individual controls — root causes of fatigue are eliminated and peak health and human performance is achieved.
We want to have you be involved in the ergonomics process! You are the expert at your job and we need you to let us know how we can make it better for you. Ergonomic improvements will make your job and your life much easier.
Get involved! How can you do that? Recognize and report risks related to workplace ergonomics. We will follow up by conducting an ergonomic risk assessment. Professional athletes get tired and sore from practice all the time. When they do, they go to their athletic trainer for help and recommendations on how they can care for themselves to get ready for practice the next day.
The same thing is true for industrial athletes. If you experience any excessive fatigue or discomfort, let us know! Your onsite athletic trainer will work with you to review self-care tools and techniques as well as evaluate your job for any ergonomic risk factors that might exist. Daily pre-shift stretching — proven to reduce injuries. Stretching increases blood supply and nutrients to joint structures, and helps your body remove toxic metabolic waste products.
Stretching increases soft tissue temperature and allows for greater elasticity of tissues. Stretching increases joint synovial fluid lubricant for bones and cartilage that allows greater range of motion and reduces joint degeneration.
Stretching decreases resistance in tendons and muscles. Athletes stretch… so should we! Remember the primary ergonomic risk factors: force, posture, and repetition. The power zone for lifting is close to the body, between mi-thigh and mid-chest height. This zone is where the arms and back can lift the most with the least amount of effort. Staying hydrated is one of the most important things you can do for your health!
Dehydration of the muscles and tendons is a primary cause of muscle fatigue, strain, and tendonitis. How much water do you need every day? Most experts agree that this simple formula is a great measuring stick that should be used as a water intake goal.
0コメント