Grading and Excavation Contractor

By Daniel C. Brown

Every year, millions of man-hours are lost in the construction industry through injuries caused by neglectful and potentially damaging or fatal work practices that have been adopted in the work place. As injuries and illnesses trend upward, so does the awareness of ergonomics and biomechanics, says Cynthia Roth, chief executive officer of Ergonomic Technologies Corp. in Syosset, NY.

Ergonomics is the applied science that can prevent cumulative trauma injuries to all employees’ bodies. Once the best ergonomic practices are understood and applied, the employees can work harder and smarter without the risk of injuries. And employers can put dollars back into the revenue stream and not into the workers’ compensation system.

For many years, Roth says contractors never thought about applying ergonomics in the construction industry. Fatalities have been and are still the most important issue for construction employees, as well they should be. But today, as accidents such as trips, falls, lacerations, eye injuries, and the like occur, supervisors should work to find the root cause of the injury and employ strategies to prevent the injury from reoccurring on the work site.

Some of the major causes of workplace injuries are inadequately designed work stations, processes, equipment, and tools resulting from a lack of design knowledge. Improper manual material handling (MMH)—lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, and holding—also cause many workplace injuries, especially when they are repeated over and over.

As evidence of these injuries, Roth points to the injury/illness rates for workers’ compensation claims, lost work time, and product liability claims. To stop this trend in the construction industry, contractors must be educated in the “best practice” type of intervention delivered through onsite training to management, supervisors, and employees.

Musculoskeletal injuries are subtle and are the most prevalent of all construction injuries. The ergonomic-type injuries, which occur over time, break the body down and are difficult to manage without specific training and knowledge.

One of the most important and immediate trends worldwide is the aging of the working population, says Roth. Aging brings experience, wisdom, and capability, but it can adversely affect employees’ abilities in the workplace. This is especially true in construction, where the tasks are labor intensive, and require a lot of lifting, bending, pushing, pulling, carrying, holding, and reaching. These types of MMH tasks create the greatest potential for ergonomic-type injuries and lost work time. The back is particularly at risk.

Frequent manual lifts of loads that are too heavy, excessive bending and reaching, awkward postures, forceful motions, prolonged leaning against hard or sharp objects and vibrating tools and equipment all contribute to the risk factors known as musculoskeletal disorders or cumulative trauma disorders—all ergonomic types of injuries.

A construction worker feels discomfort and pain but the longtime belief is that “this is part of the job.” The body parts most affected by construction work are the back, neck, elbows, shoulders, wrists, fingers, knees, and legs.

Organizations can reduce and manage occupational risk factors by applying a total integrated approach to workplace risk management. This can be accomplished by undertaking a complete assessment of ergonomic risk factors. Supervisors and safety personnel can be trained to conduct a thorough ergonomic audit of a work site. A simple clipboard and a checklist is all you need, Roth says.

A sample training agenda might consist of:

the fundamentals of ergonomics from definition to application;
how the body reacts to construction jobs and the environment;
early recognition of MMH risk factors;
tackling the solutions through best practices;
reduction of reaching, lifting, lowering, pushing and pulling, shoveling, and climbing;
prevention of MMH injuries and trenching injuries; and
best tools and equipment available off the shelf.

Once the training has been conducted, work sites can be managed more safely. The supervisors are now trained to recognize how the work can be performed to prevent prolonged standing, stooping, kneeling, or squatting. The audit will identify the jobs that present the greatest exposures. Supervisors will know when workers need to take breaks or trade off with other workers doing different jobs.

The supervisors will audit the material handling equipment (forklifts, cranes, hoists, pallet jacks, or carts) that moves heavy materials or containers, bringing them closer to the jobs requiring their use at the job site. And supervisors will recognize how powered and non-powered hand tools should be selected and maintained properly to reduce awkward postures, forceful exertions, contact stresses, and excessive vibration exposures.

Pains in the neck are bad news! The good news is that through management of workplace ergonomics, we can do something to prevent such pains.

Preparing for a Heart Attack
Sudden cardiac arrest causes 350,000 deaths a year, according to the American Heart Association, and 10% of those deaths occur on the job.

For each minute that passes between the onset of a heart attack and the arrival of professional help, your chances of survival drop by 10%, says David Lipman, president of SOS Technologies of Chicago, IL. Meanwhile, the national average response time for the paramedics is about 12 minutes. “So if you’re in cardiac arrest, there’s a good chance you don’t survive,” says Lipman.

Two factors, however, can make a difference in that survival rate. If a co-worker nearby is trained in CPR—cardiopulmonary resuscitation—that worker can apply CPR and hopefully save the victim. Secondly, if a co-worker has a portable lightweight defibrillator and is trained in its use, that can also prevent death by a heart attack, says Lipman. “You need to have people who are trained and certified in CPR.”

He recommends that at least two people per crew, preferably more, be trained in CPR. Secondly, you need a medical emergency response plan. Typically that means calling 911. However, safety experts recommend that before starting work on a project, you show local fire or emergency officials where your job site is, so they know how to gain access to it.

And check out the local hospital. If it’s an orthopedic facility, it won’t do you much good in case of a heart attack.

SOS Technologies certifies more than 10,000 people a year in CPR, first aid and in the use of automated external defibrillators. A four-hour class is all it takes to gain certification in CPR and the use of the defibrillator. And the company sells portable lightweight defibrillators. They’re designed for the lay person to use, and are similar to the ones used by professionals. All of the defibrillators cost less than $1,500, says Lipman.

Daniel C. Brown owns TechniComm, a communications business in Illinois.

GEC - May 2008

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