If you’d like to get these links (and more) during the week, follow our updates on Twitter.

Stop a Sick Day In Its Tracks
EHS Today

Managers and supervisors can use this simple technique to help stop an employee sick day before it happens: Let a stressed-out worker know you care by offering supportive treatment …

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Perception, Work-Life Balance Key Factors in Workplace Safety, Study Says
OH & S

Companies that run in a smooth and effective manner and have minimal constraints on worker performance can decrease injuries by 38 percent as worker opinions improve, according to survey results …

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Home Delivery Industry Experts Gathered to Tackle Health and Safety Implications of Online Shopping Boom
IOSH

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH) Retail and Distribution Group event at Donington Park, in Leicestershire, gave practical advice on managing risks that could arise from making home deliveries …

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Get Out of That Chair!
EHS Today

An occupational therapist at Saint Louis University has some bad news for office workers: Research has identified a link between sedentary behavior and heart disease, which means employees who are deskbound for most of the workday may be putting their health at risk …

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From the Ergonomics Plus blog this week: Injury Prevention Tip: MSD Prevention Basics

Each day we use our body; physical stress and strain sometimes produces microscopic wear and fatigue to our soft tissues.  Normally, this fatigue is fully repaired by rest, circulation, and nutrition through the blood supply.

When there is a balance between this fatigue and the repair process, we maintain good health.

But too much fatigue coupled with too little repair can lead to MSD.

Prevention of MSD

Here’s the good news… MSDs are absolutely preventable.  MSD prevention strategies seek to reduce daily fatigue and enhance your body’s recovery process. Employing prevention strategies can have an immediate impact on the quality of our life.  We can go home with more energy left to do the things that make our life more enjoyable!

In order to take care of our musculoskeletal systems, we need to decrease fatigue and increase the recovery of the system.

Decrease Fatigue:

• Ergonomics
• Proper body mechanics
• Proper lifting techniques
• Pre-shift stretching
• Reverse stretching

Increase Recovery:

• Proper hydration
• Good nutrition
• Vitamin supplements
• Proper sleeping habits
• Good physical fitness

Decreasing fatigue and increasing recovery allows our bodies to perform at peak levels and prevents musculoskeletal disorders from happening.

Education and Awareness of MSD

Prevention is a shared responsibility! The company is responsible for a safe work environment and procedures, and all workplace athletes are responsible for using their body properly and keeping their body fit for work.

All employees must be aware and educated of their responsibilities!

If you’d like to get these links (and more) during the week, follow our updates on Twitter.

Infographic by ShapeUp.

Fatigue Risk Management Can Improve Workplace Safety
Business Insurance

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill.—Implementing a comprehensive fatigue risk management system could improve workplace safety and efficiency, according to a new guidance paper released by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine …

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On Valentine’s Day, Share the Love With Employees
EHS Today 

Valentine’s Day is more than a day of romance: It’s also an ideal time to share the love at work. Even if you can’t afford to give your employees gifts or cash rewards on Valentine’s Day, you can still use this holiday as a way to offer your heartfelt thanks and appreciation …

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OSHA Encourages Adoption of Injury, Illness Prevention Programs
Risk & Insurance

More than 4,500 workers die on the job every year while another 4.1 million suffer a serious job-related injury or illness. Many of these incidents are avoidable, according to OSHA …

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Worker’s Comp Woes: Injured Workers and Opiate Addication
EHS Today 

A workers’ compensation insurance holding company has established a narcotics program to address the problem of injured workers developing opiate addictions that make them unable to return to work in a timely fashion – or at all …

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From the Ergonomics Plus blog this week - The Number One Indicator of Successful Injury Prevention and Wellness Programs (hint: Safety Culture!)

Leadership Sets the Standard for Safety Culture

Safety needs to become a core value in your organization, not just a long list of compliance items waiting to be checked off. The decision to make safety a core value begins the process of creating a workplace that is not only free of injury and illness, but also more productive and enjoyable.

Once the decision is made to make safety a core value, leadership needs to sell this vision to the entire organization. Policies and procedures must reflect safety as a core value, and be communicated to all employees. Once these are in place, you must walk the talk! Policies and procedures posted on a bulletin board aren’t enough – you must follow through and lead by example.

Building a Complete Safety Culture Requires 100% Engagement

Every employee throughout the organization needs to be involved in this process, and be held responsible for the outcomes. After all, safety is now a core value of the entire company.

OSHA states that “the best Safety and Health Programs involve every level of the organization, instilling a safety culture that reduces accidents for workers and improves the bottom line for managers,” concluding that “when safety and health are part of the organization and a way of life, everyone wins.”

Tips to engage employees in the safety process:

• Provide the right tools – allocate the necessary resources and tools for all employees to successfully accomplish their responsibilities.
• Get Feedback – engage employees in the continuous improvement process. Find out what employees think is going well and what is not going well in the safety program.
• Celebrate success – when your facility reaches an important safety milestone, celebrate and reward it!

Safety Culture Audit

Improving your safety culture begins with an honest self-inspection. Want an easy way to do a quick audit of your facility’s safety culture?

Grab the written policy off the bulletin board and head out to where the people are. Ask at least ten employees to read the policy and respond.

If they respond by acknowledging that the company is living the policy out in deeds, keep up the great work! If they can’t help but to laugh out loud, you’ll know you have some work to do.

Feedback – What are you doing to improve your safety culture?

Making safety a core value in your organization is more than just a change in equipment and procedure, it’s an attitude.

How would you rate the safety culture of your organization? What are you doing to improve it? Please let us know in the comments below.

If you’d like to get these links (and more) during the week, follow our updates on Twitter.

The Organizational “Body”: Improved Employee Health
NIFS for Fitness 

When was the last time you did an organizational health checkup? If your organization were one body, what would its state of health be? How would you read its vital signs? …

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Billions In Annual Losses to Workplace Injury Can Be Cut By Training, Awareness
PR Web 

Reacting to $50 billion in workers’ compensation payments cited by the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, attorney Thomas J. Schaffer of Gallon, Takacs, Boissoneault & Schaffer Co., L.P.A., says focus should be on prevention …

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Creative Benefits to Engage, Motivate and Retain
Corporate Wellness Insights 

Employers are learning that when chosen and implemented effectively, benefits can demonstrate leadership’s concern for the well-being of employees, reinforce cultural values, and foster deeper employee engagement …

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Culture and Traditions: Ergonomics in the Medina
Humantech

Seeing and learning about the daily workings and ways of life in other counties and cultures helps me keep things in perspective. While in Morocco, I noticed that most ground-level work was done manually by people working in a bent over, flexed-back posture …

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From the Ergonomics Plus blog this week – Injury Prevention Tip: Heart Disease Awareness and Prevention

Since people spend most of their time at work, employers are in a great position to turn this trend around. Not only is this the right thing to do, but businesses can benefit financially from a prevention and wellness culture. Prevention is a smart business strategy.

About Heart Disease

The term “heart disease” refers to several types of heart conditions. The most common type in the United States is coronary artery disease, which can cause heart attack, angina, heart failure, and arrhythmias.

Here are a few quick facts about heart disease:

• Heart disease and stroke remain the first and third leading causes of death, accounting for more than 30% of all mortality, and are among the leading causes of disability.
• 1 million Americans are disabled from strokes; many can no longer perform daily tasks, such as walking or bathing, without help.
• In 2003, approximately 37% of adults reported having two or more of the major risk factors for heart disease and stroke (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, current smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity).
• In 2010, heart disease will cost the United States $316.4 billion. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.

Source: CDC

What causes heart disease?

Preventable chronic diseases are the outcome of our unhealthy choices. 

Poor lifestyle choices are the primary cause of chronic conditions, including heart disease. Lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol consumption are all major contributors to increased risk of heart disease. As we expose ourselves to these risk factors over time, we develop the chronic diseases that result in poor health and the related consequences.

Preventing Chronic Disease Begins With Behavior Change!

Preventing heart disease and other chronic diseases at your workplace begins with changing the behavior of your employees. Better behaviors lead to lower risks and better health outcomes.

This isn’t something we can force on employees, but is something we do with and for them as part of your company’s wellness culture and comprehensive wellness program.

The first step? Educating and making your employees aware of the behaviors and risk factors that lead to chronic disease.

Heart Disease Awareness Handout

One simple and low cost way to increase awareness and educate employees is through handouts.  Click the button below to download a PDF copy of our Heart Disease Awareness handout.