Why Invest in Ergonomics?
April 23, 2021 |
KINETIC
A warehouse worker is repetitively reaching overhead to select items. An employee on the shop floor is constantly twisting to sort materials. A delivery driver bends again and again to load and unload products. These awkward postures and repetitive movements can strain employees’ musculoskeletal systems and, over time, lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) – the most frequent and costly type of workplace injuries.
Investing in an ergonomic solution that helps frontline workers improve the way they move on the job, in a long-lasting way, can elevate your safety process and benefit both your employees’ wellbeing and your company’s bottom line.
The leading cause of work-related injuries in 2019 was overexertion and bodily reactions (from lifting, twisting, reaching, etc.) accounting for more than 31% of injuries.
→ Nearly 2 million workers suffer from work-related MSDs every year.
→ 34% of lost work days are attributed to workplace MSDs.
→ Employers spend as much as $20 billion a year on direct costs for MSD-related workers’ compensation.
Thanks to advancements in sensors and data science, smart technology – like wearable devices – can be leveraged in the industrial workplace to uncover the specific ergonomic risks your employees are encountering. With this information you can see exactly who is performing high-risk postures, what those movements are, and when, where and even why they’re occurring. With these granular insights, you can create a safer and more productive work environment.
Adopting wearables leads to two key operational advantages - behavior change and actionable data.
→ Wearables provide real-time alerts that drive sustained behavior change.
→ High risk posture data provides insights into how to improve workplace ergonomics.
→ A reduction in high risk postures directly relates to a reduction in injury frequency.
Companies utilizing wearables for workplace safety are enabled to make data-driven decisions that lead to quantifiable results. They might remove a sorting belt rail to eliminate sorters’ excessive awkward reaching postures, or modify a machinist’s workstation with a raised platform to reduce his repetitive bending and twisting movements.
By investing in an ergonomic solution that creates sustained behavioral change, employers are ultimately investing in a safer, more productive and more engaged workforce. Workers experience less injuries and less lost workdays, are more productive and find their work more rewarding.
Wearables reduce workplace injury frequency 50-60%.
An example: a company outfitting 400 industrial employees at 5 facilities experienced a 64% reduction in OSHA recordable injury rates for drivers and warehouse associates year over year.
Lost work days are reduced 72% with wearables.
An example: a company outfitting 500 industrial employees at 13 facilities experienced:
→ 1,108 lost work days due to injury in 2018 without wearable devices
→ 139 lost work days due to injury in 2019 with wearable devices
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