MSD Prevention 101 - Lesson 2 The Critical Strategy You Must Embrace to get the MSD Prevention Results You Want ERGONMICSUnderstanding all your MSD prevention options can be confusing, It can be easy to get lost in a sea of poorly executed tactics. That's why it's vitally important to get the strategy right. Establish your efforts on a rock-solid foundation with a strategy proven to get the results you want. As Sun Tau famously said, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” So we need to make sure we get the MSD prevention strategy right before we implement any tactics like ergonomics, pre-shift stretching, job rotation, body mechanics training, and on and on. The overarching strategy to prevent MSDs is to systematically put control measures in place to drive down MSD risk in your workplace. It’s simple, really. It's about identifying risk factors and reducing, or controlling, these risk factors. But one of the biggest mistakes we see companies make is that they don’t account for all of the risk factors present in their workplace, and this is where they get their strategy completely mixed up. They start in with a few tactics, instead of fully understanding the problem and getting the right strategy in place. There are two kinds of MSD risk factors: ergonomic risk factors that relate to the work environment and individual risk factors that relate to the individual workplace athlete's themselves. The critical strategy you need to embrace is to recognize that there are a multitude of causative risk factors (both in the work environment and in your workplace athletes), and then systematically identify and control MSD risk in your workplace. Part 1: Ergonomic Risk Factors There are three primary ergonomic risk factors. These are often called the “big three” workplace risk factors. = The first is high task repetition. Many work tasks and cycles are repetitive in nature, and are frequently controlled by hourly or daily production targets andwork processes. High task repetition, when combined with other risks factors such high force and/or awkward postures, can contribute to the formation of MSDs. A job is considered highly repetitive if the cycle time is 30 seconds or less. + The second is forceful exertions. Many work tasks require high force loads on workplace athlete's bodies. Muscle effort increases in response to high force requirements, increasing fatigue which can lead to MSDs. + The third is awkward postures. Awkward postures place excessive force on joints and overload the muscles and tendons around the effected joint. Joints of the body are most efficient when they operate closest to the mic-range motion of the joint, Risk of MSD is increased when joints are worked outside of this mictrange repetitively or for sustained periods of time without an adequate recovery time period. As you can imagine, high task repetition, excessive force and awkward postures fatigue the workplace athlete's body beyond their ability to recover because the job is outside of their physical capabilities. The cumulative effect of performing a job with ergonomic risk factors present day in and day out puts the workplace athlete at a high risk of developing an MSD. Part 2: Individual Risk Factors From the athletic field to the shop floor, we are all athletes in life. The employees at your company are workplace athletes and they need to be treated as such for maximum safe work performance. Think about it.A professional athlete's job is production — their job is to perform on the field. When they do their job safely and they stay in peak health, they perform at the best. Well. it's the same thing with workplace athletes. Their job is production - and they perform at their best when they stay in peak health. MSDs affect the workplace athlete’s musculoskeletal or movement system. Because an MSD occurs to an individual person's body, we can't ignore the risk factors related to the individual themselves. Now, there are four primary individual risk factors.+ The first is being physically unprepared for work and ignoring the importance of recovery after work. Workplace athletes need to be physically ready for work by warming up and utilizing positive health habits to recover from each workday. + The second is poor work practices and body mechanics. Workers who use poor work practices, body mechanics and lifting techniques are introducing unnecessary risk factors that increase fatigue and discomfort. + The third is a poor overall health profile. Workplace athletes need to remain hydrated, stay fit for work and pay attention to their nutrition and other personal health habits. + The fourth is no recognition of early signs and symptoms of MSDs. At the first signs of excessive fatigue and discomfort, employees should be trained to recognize it and strongly encouraged to report it. If they fail to recognize and report fatigue and discomfort, then nothing can be done to prevent their discomfort from developing into a painful injury. Part 3: Identify MSD Risk Factors and Put Control Measures in Place Let's do a quick review of what we've covered so far. MSDs happen when fatigue outruns the workplace athlete's recovery process. Fatigue outruns recovery when workplace athletes are exposed to ergonomic risk factors and individual risk factors. Ergonomic risk factors related to the workplace increase fatigue because the job is outside of the workplace athlete's physical capabilities. Individual risk factors are related to the health of the individual themselves and the decisions they make on a daily basis. An unhealthy worker that makes poor decisions. over time contributes to imbalances in their movement system. ‘The most effective MSD prevention process focuses on identifying and removing all MSD risk factors.‘The ergonomics process identifies ergonomic risk factors, objectively quantifies them, and puts engineering and administrative controls in place. The ergonomics process is about making sure your workplace athletes are in a safe and productive work environment within their physical capabilities. An onsite athletic trainer can train your workplace athletes to use safe body mechanics, how to warmup for each workday and how they can use good health habits to recover from each workday. On-site athletic trainers can help you put individual control measures in place to reduce individual risk factors contributing to MSDs. A prevention process that includes both of these elements drives down all risk factors. that contribute to MSDs. This is the strategy you need to embrace to get the kind of health and safety results you want. Part 4: What's Coming Up Next in MSD Prevention 101 In the third lesson of our introductory course on MSD prevention, we'll be covering the specific tactics you'll need to include in your MSD prevention process and provide an overview of each. This will give you an understanding of what the MSD prevention process looks like on a daily basis. e Ergo Plus.com