Next time you’re making your way to work, look around at your fellow commuters and consider this: 85.5% or almost nine out of 10 workers in the Province of Ontario will suffer a work-related back injury over the course of their life.
The severity of the injury will vary. For some, it will be minor and will clear up on its own within a few days. For others, the pain will become chronic and last a lifetime. Back injuries account for one-third of all loss work claims filed with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario (WSIB). The claim cost per worker, per year is roughly $55,000 dollars.
What makes lower back injuries difficult, but not impossible, to prevent is that the majority of these injuries are not the result of a catastrophic accident, such as a fall or a major accident, but rather a cumulative injury-the result of years of repetitive or awkward movement such as bending, lifting, twisting and carrying, combined with using ill-fitting or inappropriate tools and equipment. A lifetime of poor ergonomic practices-making the worker fit the job, instead of the job fitting the worker.
There are two different approaches to workplace safety: the reactive and the proactive. According to Kathy Kawaja, a certified ergonomic consultant and preferred ergonomic provider to the Ontario Service Safety Alliance: "Employers have to stop being firefighters, reacting to injuries after they occur. It is better by every measurement, including economic, to prevent the accident before it occurs, by working collectively from senior management to the shop floor in a proactive fashion."
An example of the reactive approach would be: A worker carries a heavy bucket of water across the shop floor every day and every day some water is spilt. Every day, the worker stops and mops up the water. A workplace accident is prevented by the worker mopping up the spill.
The proactive approach would be: Senior management, the purchasing agent, the design engineer and the employee notice that the daily spill is occurring. They work together to find a solution, either by moving the worker closer to the source of the water, thereby taking away the necessity to cross the shop floor, or by examining the design of the bucket. Is it too heavy or awkwardly balanced? If so, the solution might be to purchase or design a bucket better suited to the worker’s body type.
The difference between reactive and proactive is that the reactive does not look towards the long-term prevention of injury, but reacts to the situation as it presents itself-mopping up the spill. The proactive offers a long-term solution to the problem of the spill, and the long-term risk of injury to the worker due to the weight of the bucket.
The above is a simple example of how ergonomics can effectively reduce the risk of injury in the workplace.
It is a team approach of looking at the job that is being done and then finding ways of doing the work more efficiently and safely. Equipment can be designed to accommodate the body type of workers. Simple solutions can be built into the design of new and existing equipment such as adjustable counter top levels, lighter and adjustable tools.
Safety training plays a role in reducing the number of back injuries, but it should not be considered the only solution, or even the top one.
Here are some concrete, ergonomically friendly suggestions to prevent backinjuries in the workplace:
Source: OHC MFL Occupational Health Centre Inc Low Back Pain in Workers, www.mflohc.mb.ca
Safety training plays a role in reducing the number of back injuries, but it should not be considered the only solution, or even the top one. Training is only relevant if it matches the reality of the job and situation that the worker is faced with. Otherwise it simply shifts the onus of accident prevention from the collective to the individual.
Studies show that workplace stress such as poor employee relations, tight deadlines or high quotas are contributing factors to workplace injuries. It is understood that stress causes the muscles to contract. This process makes the individual more susceptible to injury.
Other factors that increase the risk of lower back injuries include the temperature of the workplace: not often considered. Studies have shown that the optimum temperature to work in is between 18 and 21°C. While it’s not always practical for an employer to keep the temperature at the optimum level, it should be recognized that extreme heat or cold contributes to the risk of back injuries.
Lower back injuries should not be considered an inevitable cost of doing business. We have the technology and the ability to design equipment, workspace and training around the needs of employers, employees and consumers to ensure that through safe practices, 85.5% is a horror statistic of yesteryear.
Excerpted from Safety Mosaic Winter 2005, Vol. 8, No. 4
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