Seminar outlines OSHA's ergonomics-standard plan

Employers are in a constant juggling act to keep profits up, business ongoing, employees satisfied and safe, and regulatory organizations happy. OSHA is throwing another ball into the act with its proposed ergonomics standard.

As OSHA defines it, ergonomics "is the science of fitting the job to the worker. When there is a mismatch between the physical requirements of the job and the physical capacity of the worker, work-related musculoskeletal disorders can result."

And such musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs, do result, to a tune of $15 billion to $20 billion a year, the amount employers pay in workers' compensation. It is OSHA's hope that an ergonomics standard will lower that figure significantly.

"We are in a period of comment right now," said OSHA representative Gary Orr, at Ollis & Company's Feb. 15 seminar, "Workers' Compensation and Workplace Ergonomics: The Business Leaders Perspective." Orr is the ergonomics standard team leader at OSHA and oversees the development of the program standard. One of his goals was to get feedback from businesspeople about the proposed ergonomics standard, because, he said, "We are trying to do the best ergonomic proposal we can."

The proposed standard may be viewed online at

www.osha-slc.gov/ergonomics-standard/fedregabbrversion.html.

In a brief overview of the proposed standard, Orr listed six elements: scope, job hazard analysis, quick fix, training, medical management and program evaluation.

Scope defines who must meet the standard. OSHA is trying to limit it to industries with a high MSD risk, such as production. The first step is to have a reporting system in place.

"For high risk jobs," Orr said, "OSHA has up-front things to do; for other types of jobs, OSHA has things to do after the MSD is reported." Orr also pointed out that "if you have the six elements already in place and they are doing a good job, you don't have to change."

Orr added, "The job hazard analysis means can you or can't you associate the person's MSD with the job." If a strong link exists, then incremental analysis is used to make the job better (i.e., providing wrist support for a typist).

A quick fix is basically using common sense. For example, if an MSD occurs when workers lift 100-pound bags and it hasn't happened previously, examine what has changed, Orr said. Maybe the materials came in 50-pound bags before. A quick fix would be to return to what worked the smaller bags. "If the first quick fix doesn't work then try another try increments," Orr said.

Training is important as a preventive measure. Orr advised that employees should be trained from the beginning about ergonomics, fixes and to recognize possible MSD job hazards.

Also, medical management is needed. "What we need to do is make sure the employee reports early if they think they have a problem," Orr said.

Program evaluation provides a system check. "Involve employees to see if the controls are actually making a difference in the workplace," Orr said.

Orr ended his overview by saying, "When the proposed ergonomics standard is adopted, businesses will have three years to implement the controls for the most part. Although some items need to be in place in one year."

The next speaker, lawyer Donald W. Jones, of Hulston, Jones, Gammon & Marsh, presented a different perspective that of "a country lawyer who represents employers." He advised employers to find experts outside their businesses to help them meet the standard by assessing the workplace and training workers.

"One of the big problems with the standard is that it focuses on employers' responsibilities and none for employees," Jones said. "There needs to be cooperation and teamwork."

The final speakers, A.J. Gajdosik and Christina Horn, of Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance, gave the insurance perspective on MSDs. Their advice? Develop, direct and deliver.

Develop. Horn and Gajdosik recommend the employer develop a safety program in which both management and employees participate and have one person responsible for coordinating it. Training should be included because it raises awareness levels and reinforces good behaviors. Safety committees should be set up.

An injury treatment plan is key: Know who calls 911 and who reports injuries to your insurance company; select a company doctor used to treat workers' compensation injuries; choose a managed care organization; know where to send employees urgent care, doctor's office or emergency room.

Direct. Missouri employers have the right to direct the medical care of their injured employee, Gajdosik and Horn said. They need to refer the employee to a physician and to report the injury to their insurance company immediately.

Deliver. The idea here is to get the injured employee back to work as soon as possible. To help, have written job descriptions. The hurt employee can take the description to the doctor to help the doctor determine what kind of work the employee can return to doing. Another important step is to develop a return-to-work, light-duty program.

Using the develop, direct and deliver formula can result in workers spending fewer hours away from work on workers' compensation, which translates to lower costs for employers and their insurance companies. Plus, pre-planning on the part of the employer demonstrates the employer's concern for workers' health, they said.

The bottom line is OSHA and business owners prefer workers to be safe, healthy and injury free, whether they do or don't see eye-to-eye on how to reach the goal.

Businesses stand to gain by eliminating injuries; according to OSHA, in 1996, U.S. workers had more than 647,000 lost workday MSDs.