Onsite Ergonomics

Ensuring Worker Comfort Could Reduce Injuries, Premiums

by Elaine Schmidt

Jobsite safety isn’t just about hardhats and goggles.

Construction-site safety has expanded to include ergonomic principles, and that means tools and equipment that has been designed for comfort, safety and physical ease of use.

Sang Choi, associate professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health in the College of Education at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, is trying to improve construction-site safety through ergonomic principles. He also coordinates the school’s Occupational Ergonomics Emphasis & Certificate Program.

“When you bend over to pick something up, you are lifting 60% of your body’s weight, in addition to the weight of the object you’re lifting,” Choi says. Ergonomic issues like this faced by construction workers can be simple to understand and correct.

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Choi conducted a study recently in which he surveyed 45 construction firms in Wisconsin. Twenty-five of the firms responded, including nine that specialize in highway construction; six general contractors; three electrical contractors; two concrete/precast firms; two steel erectors; two signage/street lighting/traffic signal firms; and one utility firm.

The survey included a total of 10,879 construction workers.

Sprains and Strains Top Problem

Sprains and strains are the most common type of injury across all types of construction work. Manual materials handling, specifically carrying 31 to 50 lbs, was the foremost cause, according to survey findings.

“Lifting something heavier than the capacity of your legs, for instance, a 200-lb object, can cause a back injury or back sprain in one incident,” Choi says. “Lifting a 15-lb object 10 times in one hour also could cause enough burden to the connective tissues to cause a sprain or strain.”

The most common factors in sprains and strains are awkward postures, excessive manual force, high repetition or frequency of an action and extended task duration. The causes could include reaching over an obstacle repeatedly when lifting, cranking particularly hard on a wrench because of a too-short handle for leverage or simply sawing, pounding nails or smoothing concrete excessively.

In addition to sprains, two other major consequences of poor ergonomic practices include back injuries and cuts. On a much lower scale, workers also blame contusions, eye injuries, burns and fractures on poor ergonomics.

Driving the focus on ergonomic construction is the increasing age of the workforce. Choi says the loss of physical strength and the decrease in range of motion that occur as workers age are factors in this increase, as are the posture and movement habits that many workers have developed over their working life.

The increase of ergonomic injuries in the construction industry in recent years has brought an increase in insurance premiums as well, Choi says. In fact, one-third of insurance claims are related to injuries due to poor ergonomic practices.

“Industrywide, about two-thirds of the amount of money the insurers have had to pay has been related to ergonomic injuries,” he says. He points out that while a cut finger is often a “one-time deal” in terms of treatment and cost, a back injury can require surgery and long-term therapy and remain a costly, chronic problem for the worker for years after.

Companies devoting a short period of time to mandatory stretching before each shift and after lunch have seen a decrease in sprains and strains.

One Contractor’s Ergonomics

CR Meyer, an Oshkosh, Wis.-based general contracting firm, began stressing ergonomic principles and concepts on jobsites in the mid-1990s.

Fred Rideout, director of risk management, gave the example of a mechanized laser screed the company purchased in 1996. Screeding, the process of flattening and smoothing the surface of freshly-poured concrete, is traditionally accomplished by a worker drawing a straight-edged piece of wood or metal across the wet surface. This requires the worker to bend at the waist, while reaching and pulling at the level of his or her feet.

CR Meyer’s approximately $300,000 laser screed investment was intended to significantly reduce worker exposure to severe strains from manual handling of screeds. Since the purchase, the company has had zero injuries to report to its insurance carrier, Rideout says.

He cites the company’s “concerted effort to purchase tools and equipment that address ergonomic opportunities and daily pretask planning sessions conducted by every supervisor. Employees in the sessions have the opportunity to contribute solutions to ergonomic challenges.”

Suggestions range from tool and equipment selection for the day’s tasks to worker mentoring. The latter allows experienced employees to instruct newer employees in the best means for completing a task, from an ergonomic standpoint.

“That 15-minute meeting on the front end of the day lets everyone make a plan for the day,” he adds. “It lets everyone get the right tools and get to work prepared.”

CR Meyer has also purchased equipment to help eliminate manual materials handling on its jobsites, such as the laser screed, Rideout says. It helps people avoid heavy lifting, in contrast to the truss screed that normally would have been used.

“We have seen a 58% decrease in strain injuries since 2001,” he says. “That correlates with an 83% decrease in worker compensation direct payments.”

Tools with padded grips to help absorb the shock when a person is striking something have been purchased. Padded work gloves to help absorb shocks and vibrations were also an investment as part of the firm’s ergonomic program.

CR Meyer’s ergonomic attention turned indoors in 2006, focusing in workstation redesigns that have resulted in zero worker compensation claims.

Work stations were made height adjustable so that workers do not have to bend over to pick things up or reach up.

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