Every employer wants a safe and healthy workplace for their employees, but many fail to take the necessary steps to ensure that happens. While it’s true that most employers have some form of safety program in place to respond to musculoskeletal injuries, being responsive doesn’t truly address the root of the problem. An ideal safety program puts measures in place that will prevent injuries from occurring in the first place, not only improving employee health and performance but also reducing costs associated with such injuries . The solution is Early Intervention – one-on-one onsite interaction designed to work directly with your employees to proactively prevent musculoskeletal injuries. Here’s how.
The three leading indicators of injury The goal of Early Intervention isn’t to put Humpty Dumpty back together again once he’s fallen off the wall. It’s to keep him from falling off the wall – or to make sure he never gets up on the wall in the first place . This begins with onsite injury prevention specialists interacting with your workers wherever they are – on the factory floor, on the road, or anywhere in between – to analyze and identify any of the three leading indicators of injury that may be present in their everyday tasks. This is an evidence-based approach that looks at the three leading indicators of early soreness, ergonomics, and behaviors. Early soreness If an employee is experiencing early phases of muscle soreness or joint pain, it’s likely to continue or worsen if preventative steps aren’t taken. If your workers have been suffering a large number of sprains and strains, they’re at risk of worse issues down the road. Ergonomics In physical and repetitive work environments, it’s important that processes are set up and organized in a way that minimizes strain on the human body. A truly comprehensive ergonomics assessment also considers the engineering and psychological aspects of the job to ensure the employee is set up for safety and success . Behaviors While having best lifting practices in place is good start, information doesn’t always simply equate to transformation. Optimizing how the individual worker chooses to work is a war that you shouldn’t really expect to ever win, but you can make significant and meaningful strides if you wage that war consistently over time. To do this, it takes unwavering focus, strategy, and relationships with the work force. These are all things that an Early Intervention program can bring to the table. Early Intervention with Fit For Work Fit For Work provides onsite Early Intervention to reduce injuries and associated costs by 50%. We utilize a comprehensive turnkey approach to integrate with your processes and to provide you with the resources you need to implement a musculoskeletal prevention strategy that makes a difference. It’s not just a symptom and response process – it identifies areas where change could be made in your environment and your practices to ensure better health for your workers. We’ll be there doing work just like your employees – and making sure they’re doing it right. Contact Fit For Work today to begin implementing an Early Intervention program that will get ahead of workplace injuries and create a better overall environment for your business.
