Ergo risk assessments can help reduce work-related injuries
Workers comp claims, incident reports can provide helpful data
The rise of work-place injuries related to musculoskeletal disorders -- which is costing U.S. businesses more than $20 billion a year -- may be reduced if companies include ergonomic risk assessments in their occupational health and safety management systems, according to an article in the December issue of the American Society of Safety Enginers' Professional Safety journal.
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent one-third of all disabling workplace incidents and more than 40 percent of workers’ compensation costs in the U.S., write authors Bruce Lyon, Georgi Popov and Kevin Hanes. MSDs are injuries or disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage and spinal discs, according to the Centers for Disease Control. “The lack of ergonomic principles in workplace design can lead to inherently flawed systems that are costly to retrofit and correct,” the authors write.