Preventing workplace injuries and illnesses 2023

PREVENTING WORKPLACE INJURIES AND ILLNESSES 2023

Prevention of work-related injuries at handling sites

 Health, Safety, and Ergonomics

Logistics, warehousing, manufacturing – and other industries where material handling plays a significant role – unfortunately rank among the most at risk regarding non-lethal injuries and illnesses.

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), injuries are most common</a> due to overexertion while handling materials, followed by falls, slips, and trips. It is often entirely possible to prevent or significantly reduce the risk of such injuries. When done well, it will improve not only staff health and job satisfaction but also the efficiency and bottom line of the facility. & nbsp;

What are occupational injuries and their common causes?

The definition of an employment injury is any injury or illness caused or significantly aggravated by events in the workplace. In the United States alone, the total cost of injuries from workplace accidents and other events is more than $170 billion, according to the NSC. Medical costs are part of this figure, but productivity losses and administrative expenses are even more significant. NSC statistics also tell us that the most common workplace accidents that result in lost workdays are:

1. Overexertion resulting from lifting, lowering, and repetitive movements account for more than a third (33.5%) of the total number of injuries.
2. Contact with objects and equipment, such as being bumped or stuck between materials, is the second most common type of injury (26%).
3. Slips, trips, and falls are almost as expected, accounting for 25.8% of the total.

The injuries resulting from these events are most often sprains, strains or tears, aches or pains, cuts or lacerations. In the private sector, most injuries occur in the logistics, manufacturing, construction, and maintenance/repair sectors. 

How to Prevent Work-Related Injuries – General Strategies

The most effective way to reduce workplace accidents’ high human and economic costs is to prevent them from occurring. But where to start? All logistics companies and facilities differ and will require unique approaches. However, many will benefit from these general preventative strategies:

• Provide adequate training: Insufficient training on how to safely use equipment, machines, and vehicles is the cause of many accidents. Always ensure that any member of staff who uses potentially dangerous equipment has received the correct training to do so. Management personnel must also cultivate a high level of security and keep up to date.

• Incorporate a safety plan: A safety plan is essential for injury prevention and a safe work environment. It should be based on assessing potentially hazardous procedures in an individual installation and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. The safety plan may include, for example, rules and checklists for operating equipment, procedures for reporting unsafe behavior or practices, emergency response instructions, and other relevant guidelines.

• Finding and tracking security vulnerabilities: Again, all businesses face different sets of security challenges. An example of a vulnerability could be a specific procedure or situation where accidents are common. Investigate the cause of accidents and develop a strategy to prevent them from happening.

• Discourage risky behavior: Accidents are much more likely to occur in a workplace where employees are overworked, perhaps using “short cut” schemes to improve performance. While it is natural to encourage creativity and productivity gains, this should never come at the expense of safety. Find ways to emphasize that the business is better served when employees stay safe and healthy rather than taking unnecessary risks.

• Provide protective equipment: if the work environment calls for it, provide and apply personal protective equipment (PPE) such as hard hats, goggles, safety shoes, and earplugs – and take the time to train employees to wear and use them correctly.

• Ensure equipment and vehicles are properly maintained: Failure to maintain equipment and vehicles is costly and a common cause of serious accidents. Implementing a policy to ensure that cars and other equipment, including powered material handling solutions, are serviced at recommended intervals is an important safety measure.

• Supervise and support employees: All employees should have quick access to a supervisor if they have questions. Supervision will also ensure that employees perform tasks properly, which helps avoid uncertainty and unnecessary risk-taking. This is especially important in extensive facilities, where staff members are not always aware of other roles.

• Provide practical tools and equipment: Repetitive or heavy manual handling of materials is often the cause not only of exhaustion but also of work-related back injuries, shoulder pain, wrist pain, and other handicapped problems. Using vacuum cups, hoists, cranes, conveyor systems, and other material handling equipment will significantly reduce the risk of injury.

Ergonomics is the key to injury prevention in the workplace.

Logistics and manufacturing facilities often emphasize accident prevention, which is, of course, essential. However, it is also important not to overlook the role of ergonomics in preventing workplace accidents. Poor ergonomics is a common cause of serious, long-term injuries that will inevitably affect employee health and productivity.

As noted earlier, more than a third of work-related injuries are due to overuse from moving, lifting, lowering, and repetitive movements – all related to ergonomics.

What is ergonomics in the industry?

“Industrial” ergonomics studies how to design and use industrial equipment so as not to harm workers’ health. It can also be explained by adapting the human-machine interface and work procedures to the human body’s natural movements.

In comparison, office ergonomics usually focuses on details such as wrist support, chair and screen adjustments, sitting position, or the type of keyboard used. All of these factors are pretty easy to adjust with minimal cost. The opposite often applies in industrial ergonomics, where advanced equipment is usually needed to help, e.g., heavy lifting or assembly procedures.

In other words, providing workers with the equipment, they need to work ergonomically in an industrial environment often requires significant investment. But these investments have major benefits in terms of happier and healthier employees and substantial productivity gains when making the right choices.

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Ergonomic hazards during handling – and solutions

Many ergonomic hazards in materials handling are due to heavy or poorly executed manual handling. Lifting heavy objects causes tension and exhaustion, leading to back pain, twisting movements, and trauma when lifting.

Education in ergonomically correct lifting techniques is an essential first step in mitigating the risk of injury and is equally important when using lifting equipment. However, it will not succeed in eliminating the risks associated with manual handling.

A proactive solution to many ergonomic hazards is to minimize manual handling as much as possible. The use of a tailor-made vacuum lifting and handling solution to ensure that you:

• Significantly reduce staff burnout by eliminating most of the effort required to lift heavy loads.
• Reduce stress on the back and shoulders, which is otherwise a leading cause of acute and long-term injuries.
• Facilitate staff turnover. As anyone can now lift heavy goods, simplified staff rotation will mitigate the risk of occupational injuries caused by repetitive tasks.
• Reduce twisting and bending – vacuum lifters can be designed for effortless tilting and swiveling.

In addition to significant ergonomic benefits and reduced risk of accidents, vacuum handling devices also significantly reduce cycle times. 

HOW CAN PHYSICAL PREPARATION PREVENT INJURIES?

HOW TO AVOID AND PREVENT INJURIES THROUGH APPROPRIATE PHYSICAL PREPARATION.

As a sportsman, you undoubtedly know how unpleasant it is to get injured during the season. More than just pain, there is also the frustration of giving up some or all of it. There is also this feeling of having trained for nothing and sometimes the guilt of “letting down” his teammates. However, with good physical preparation, you have the possibility of drastically reducing the risk of injury.

PLACE AND ROLE OF PHYSICAL PREPARATION

Physical preparation takes place before the start of the season. It is generally spread over 3 to 6 weeks, with several weekly sessions. To be effective, the program must distribute different workloads and provide for a progression of the intensity of the sessions.

Whatever the sport envisages, the preparation is intended to prepare the body for the particularities of the discipline. It has different roles:

• Hold on to every competition;
• Last throughout the season;
• Gain power and speed;
• Promote rapid recovery;
• Avoid injury.

HOW DO YOU PREVENT MAJOR INJURIES?

sprains

A sprain is an attack on the ligaments which occurs when a movement exceeds the average amplitude of the joint. You probably already know it since it is the most common injury among athletes. With inadequate support, a twist, and … crack, you are on the ground and can not get up. The immobilization can prove problematic for your season from a few days to several months.

The most frequent are, of course, those of the ankle and the knee. In its most serious degree, the sprain causes a total rupture of the ligaments; this is the case when we speak of the cruciate ligaments, a typical injury in football or volleyball.

How can physical preparation prevent sprains?

To be less vulnerable to sprains, proprioception work is essential during physical preparation. Specific exercises will allow you to integrate support mechanisms preventing your joints from twisting or slipping. You will also gain a better balance.

Muscle damage

They cover stretching, straining, tearing, and breaking in the most severe cases. Strain, which you should already know, is overstretching of a muscle: the stages above, the breakdown and the tear, present tearing of muscle fibers. On the other hand, Rupture occurs when a fundamental part of the muscle is torn.

This injury occurs mainly in the lower limbs and is particularly common in racing and team sports.

How does physical preparation prevent muscle damage?

To avoid them, it is recommended to attack gradually after a period of cessation. A well-done preparation will allow your muscles to get back to work slowly.

Muscle strengthening and stretching also have a role to play in preventing this type of injury. The first is to make your muscles more resistant, and the second is to minimize the risk of Rupture.

Tendinitis and overuse injuries

Tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendons that appears during repeated or poorly performed movements. We see it in athletes practicing discipline on hard ground, such as in a marathon. Tennis is also a sport that more easily causes tendinitis by sudden starts and stops on this type of ground and by violent arm movements and repetitive gestures.

How to avoid tendinitis thanks to physical preparation?

Tendinitis can be promoted by muscle imbalance. Thus, you limit the risks by ensuring that you build muscle in a balanced way without favoring certain areas of the body. Incorporating rest periods into your program is also essential to protect yourself.

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Fractures (5%)

A fracture can appear during a violent impact, mainly in team sports. A tackling that’s a little too rough during a football match, and it’s a broken ankle. In volleyball, a bad reception of the ball can lead to a broken thumb…

That’s not all. Among athletes, we often encounter stress fractures following intense training. Indeed, the excessive practice of a sport leads to the demineralization of the bone, which becomes fragile in certain places. Then, too much tension or a blow, and it’s the tragedy: several weeks off and a ruined season.

How to anticipate the fracture?

To avoid this, you must provide rest periods in your preparation program and during the season. Indeed, it is during these periods that your bones will strengthen.

A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE IS ESSENTIAL TO AVOID INJURIES

In addition to physical preparation, hydration and nutrition are prominent in injury prevention. Eating a balanced diet and not consuming too much protein is essential, an overload of the latter favoring tendinitis. In intense physical activity, drinking at least 2 liters of water per day is also recommended. On the other hand, energy drinks and bars can help you fill up on essential nutrients.

In addition, it is essential to respect your need for sleep. Indeed, your body is particularly stressed. It needs these phases of rest. Tired, you will be less attentive and risk injuring yourself much more quickly.

Have you, unfortunately, suffered one of these misadventures and want to resume as soon as possible? In addition to gradually continuing, you can strengthen a weakened joint with suitable joint protection material that we offer at Sport-Protech.

Injuries are common, and it is difficult to avoid them all. Nevertheless, being well prepared beforehand gives you every chance of getting through the season without ending up on a stretcher. Combined with technical work and rest periods, your physical preparation will be one of the pillars of your sports training before the following season.

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PREVENTING WORKPLACE INJURIES AND ILLNESSES 2023