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Reducing strain and sprain injuries requires reinforcement.
As with any safety and health program or initiative, to get sustained results
there must be frequent reinforcement over time. The "safety program of
the month" or a knee jerk reaction to a serious accident, while more
common than they should be, rarely lead to sustained results. In fact, they
often do more harm than good.
When it comes to reducing strain and sprain injuries (also referred to as
soft tissue, musculoskeletal, overexertion injuries, etc.) there is no silver
bullet either. Even the best written ergonomics procedures and training are
not enough. These efforts may provide some reductions, but the improvements
are usually short lived. Achieving material and sustained reductions in strain
and sprain injuries takes a serious commitment to reinforcement.
For example, let's say in an effort to reduce strain and sprain injuries
you just trained all your employees in proper body mechanics. With shift work
and vacations, getting everyone through the training was quite a feat. Perhaps
you had someone from corporate come in, a doctor from a local clinic or you
hired a consultant to do the training. And, the feedback from your employees
was overall positive. You feel pretty good about your efforts. Maybe it's
time to move onto the next priority? Don't be fooled. If you stop here,
the chances your employees will apply what they learned in the training (i.e.,
proper body mechanics) is slim to none.
Reinforcement is the timely, repetitious, and specific reiteration of your
expectations and objectives. Said another way - practice makes perfect.
Consider the time and effort even the most skilled athletes spend practicing
their craft. Your employees are no different. Reinforcement can come in many
forms such as coaching, friendly reminders and even formal discipline. To reduce
strain and sprain injuries, you must develop a formal reinforcement strategy.
The type and nature of reinforcement may vary from company to company. Only
you can choose the approach strategy appropriate for your organization. Key
factors in choosing the best approach include the type and nature of your operation,
the maturity level of your safety and health programs, the level of employee
participation, and your organizations desired level of commitment to reducing
strain and sprain injuries. Whichever approach you choose, it will be much
easier to implement if you already have a similar process in place. For example,
if you already have a job observation program in place where supervisors or
employees perform safety inspections in the facility, simply add body mechanics
to the list of items evaluated during the inspection.
Another consideration when developing a reinforcement approach is process.
Your approach must include a plan, implementation, review of findings and follow-up.
For example, if using the job observation program as a reinforcement strategy,
first develop a checklist to ensure consistent evaluation of body mechanics.
Then determine who will perform the inspections, establish a set frequency
(e.g., weekly, monthly) and train them how to perform the observations. Next,
develop a means to collect, evaluate and analyze the information obtained during
the inspections. This will enable you to identify problem areas or trends and
allow you to prioritize and focus your future efforts.
Lastly, consider ways to communicate the findings to your employees and management.
Add the findings to a newsletter, monthly safety report or post it on a bulletin
board. Seeing and hearing about the results of their efforts alone is a form
of reinforcement. It may also be useful to have your safety committee or a
task force review and evaluate the information collected.
The safety observation program is just one of many reinforcement strategies
you can implement to reduce strains and sprains. Other interesting and effective
approaches can include using an incentive program, measuring improvement in
employee range of motion, and hazard recognition and corrective action management
programs just to name a few. Be creative. Your employees can be a great resource.
The possibilities are endless. Find one that works for your organization and
get the results you are looking to achieve.
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