THE PROBLEMS FACING EMPLOYERS TODAY:

The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics reports that Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) cost employers over 20 billion dollars annually.
$1 of every $3 of Workers’ Compensation costs are spent on MSDs.
Workers’ Compensation claims per injury exceed $29,000 -$32,000 per year.

Mavspar's Certified Ergonomists provide onsite identification of the following risk factors that lead to MSDs:

Awkward postures – working with various parts of the body (e.g., limbs, joints, back) in bent, extended or flexed position rather than in a straight or neutral position.
Repetitive motions – if motions are repeated frequently (e.g., every few seconds) and for prolonged periods such as an 8 hour shift, fatigue and muscle-tendon strain can accumulate.
Contact stress – repeated or continuous contact with hard or sharp objects such as non-padded desks, rails, or tool handles may create pressure over one area of the body that can inhibit nerve function and blood flow.
Forceful exertions – include lifting, pushing, and pulling. Tasks that require forceful exertions place higher loads on the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.
Vibration – exposure to local vibration occurs when a specific part of the body comes in contact with a vibrating object such as a power hand tool or conveyor line.

MSD SOLUTIONS:

Engineering Controls: considered the most preferred method for controlling ergonomic risk factors. These may include: modifying, redesigning or replacing: Workstations and work areas, equipment, processes, materials, containers design and handling.

Administrative Controls: deal with how work is structured and how practices and policies are implemented to reduce risk factors. These may include: proper maintenance and housekeeping, job rotation and enlargement, work scheduling, work practice, sufficient breaks, and training.

Personal Protection Equipment (PPE): simply reduces the amount of hazardous exposure by placing a barrier between the hazard and the worker. PPE may include safety glasses, steel toed shoes, hard hat, fire retardant clothing and IBDs.

Ergonomics Healthcare Impact

MSDs account for approximately 130 million annual US healthcare incidents including office visits, outpatient procedures, hospital stays, and emergency department visits.

Comprehensive medical data and healthcare injury reporting is critical to the ergonomics process to identify job related injuries.

Ergonomics programs guided by specific employer MSD incidents can lower medical payments, limit claims exposures, and enhance an employers healthcare programs.

Mavspar provides data driven, quantitative, and comprehensive healthcare consulting services designed to assist Safety, HR, & Claims Personnel in identifying high risk job classifications
and tasks.

Ergonomics risk factor identification provides claims personnel with those high risk tasks that contribute to specific musculoskeletal disorders including torn rotator cuffs, lumbar sprains, epicondylitis, and tendinitis, etc. Medical information including root injury causes, diagnoses, and degree of severity, combined with the associated treatment plans driven by these disorders, provides Risk Managers with the job related data to change job designs, processes, and methods to ultimately lower medical costs.