After being assessed with a $46,000 ergonomics-related penalty, poultry processing giant, Perdue Farms voluntarily implemented its own training program intended to help maintain a safe and healthful environment for its employees.  The results have been astounding.  Six of Perdue’s plants recorded zero lost time illnesses or accidents in over one million work hours.   Now that’s talking turkey.

New OSHA rules currently being debated before Congress would require all businesses to implement programs aimed at preventing ergonomic injuries in offices, warehouses and workplaces.   Although that news is welcome if you have ever been the victim of a WMSD (Work-related musculoskeletal disorder), it also means one more hoop for the small business owner to jump through.

Because one-third of all lost-workday injuries and illnesses are caused by WMSD’s, OSHA’s proposal to require work training programs (to teach employees how to bend, lift, type, or wield a knife safely), actually makes fiscal sense for most businesses.  The expense of implementing work training programs would be offset by reductions in workers’ compensation costs and increases in employee productivity.

Most PEOs are pleased to offer access to work training programs as part of our service to you.  It’s just one way a PEO continues to keep you and your company a step ahead of the competition.  Our Risk Management Specialists are available to assist you in preparing an ergonomic program that will help your company reduce the expenses of WMSDs even before OSHA makes such a program mandatory. 

Take a mental inventory of the tasks your employees perform. A Professional Employer Organization helps you construct a program that will help eliminate

• Forceful hand exertions
• Prolonged bending
• Working above shoulder height
• Vibration
• Heavy or repetitive lifting
• Repeated motions

Quote:  “When there is a mismatch between the physical requirements of the job and the physical capacity of the worker, work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) can result.”
-OSHA

What puts you at risk for a WMSD?:

• Repeating the same motion throughout the workday
• Doing your work in an awkward position
• Using a great deal of force to perform your job
• Repeatedly lifting heavy objects