The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Mining Program, in conjunction with the Essential Minerals Association (EMA-NA) and the National Mining Association (NMA), recently recognized three organizations in their respective industry sectors, for implementing new safety practices and systems, for employing new technology, and for cleverly reconfiguring a worksite to gain health and safety advantages.
Industrial minerals: Imerys won the industrial minerals award for redesigning a packing station and installing multiple lift assist devices to address the issue of repetitive shoulder, arm, and wrist twisting, as well as shoulder and back lifting of bottles and boxes among workers. The implemented changes eliminated musculoskeletal disorder injuries due to these conditions at the station. The improvements made a genuine difference in the working experience of employees working the packing station. As another benefit of these changes, the packing process became much more efficient.