Back injuries also hurt the bottom line
By Erik Goplin
Loss control technical specialist
At General Casualty more than half of our workers’ compensation claim costs are due to injuries from manual material handling, such as lifting, pulling or pushing. Most of them are back injuries. The expense for these claims can be far-reaching, including lifelong injuries, rehabilitation costs, the loss of materials, property damage, lost wages, training and administrative costs.
In order to protect your insured’s employees, cut these losses from your agency’s loss ratio, and help your insureds’ bottom line, remind your commercial policyholders of the importance of a comprehensive loss control program.
Giving employees back belts or training in proper lifting techniques is not enough. A complete safety program requires management commitment, accident analysis, identification of risk factors, development of controls, and medical management of injured employees. (Our loss control staff can help – see below.)
Understandably, certain insureds have higher exposure to back injuries, like moving and storage companies, warehouses, furniture stores, beverage distributors and construction companies. However, certain job functions at other businesses also carry a higher risk for injuries, such as delivery staff, maintenance personnel, and anyone who lifts, handles or carries heavy objects. According to recent studies by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, work-related risk factors for manual material handling and back injuries include heavy physical work, lifting and forceful movements, awkward postures and whole-body vibration.
In addition to these risk factors, lifestyle and personal factors play a part, such as poor posture, lack of exercise, being overweight, smoking, prolonged sitting, arthritis, etc. Employers have little control over these factors. But activities that improve employee health, such as smoking cessation programs, wellness programs, pre-work stretching and exercise and fitness programs can significantly reduce some personal factors.
Engineering controls
Physically changing the workstation layout, work process, tools and objects being lifted are the preferred methods for controlling risk factors. These are known as engineering controls. They reduce or eliminate the underlying causes of injuries.
If one of your insureds is planning modifications to their facilities, it's a perfect time to introduce engineering controls. Some strategies include:
- Reducing the weight being lifted or making it so heavy that a mechanical lift is required.
- Modifying containers to reduce weight. This could include reducing the size of the container and/or reducing the weight of packaging materials.
- Updating the way materials, parts and products are transported by using mechanical lifts and/or modifying handles and hand holds.
- Altering the workflow process to reduce risk factors.
- Evaluating the workstation layout, which might involve adjusting heights and worker positions.
Administrative controls
Administrative controls are management-dictated work practices and policies designed to reduce injuries. They don't eliminate hazards and therefore are not as effective as engineering controls. Common administrative controls include:
- Job rotation to limit the duration of risk
- Adjusting work schedules to reduce overtime or increase recovery time between material-handling tasks
- Providing training in proper lifting techniques
- Reducing the work pace
- Stretching or exercise programs
- Implementing two-person lift policies
- Applying weight-lifting limits
Selecting a solution
When GC gets involved to help an insured reduce losses, we consider each individual situation, including cost, risk factors, target productivity, work culture, implementation time, training needs and more. Cost and benefit evaluations are often used to select the best solution. Businesses should evaluate various alternatives when considering loss control strategies for their unique working environment.
For more information contact your regional loss control specialist or commercial lines underwriter.
About the author: Erik Goplin started with GCin 1999 and has 14 years of loss control experience. He’s a certified industrial hygienist (CIH), certified safety professional (CSP), and is treasurer of the Wisconsin Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
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General Casualty's loss control staff is committed to helping our commercial customers control risk factors and reduce losses. We can:
- Review past losses and identify potential loss trends.
- Help develop additional safety programs and procedures that reduce injuries.
- Conduct job hazard analyses to identify risk factors.
- Identify, evaluate and help implement potential controls to reduce or eliminate risk.
- Conduct employee and supervisor training.
- Provide technical resources to management.
- Help implement transitional return-to-work programs.
- Evaluate existing safety programs and procedures.
- Enhance accident investigation programs to help prevent recurrence and reduce the cost of injuries.
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For more information please contact Anne M. Smith.