Prevention Through Design

This edition of Trendsetters features two approaches to risk identification and work injury prevention. Standards play a critical role in the field of occupational health and safety by providing a set of regulations and establishing a level of excellence. Standards also help businesses improve safety and quality of life for employees while enhancing competitive advantages for global businesses.

A newly adopted American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) standard adds another dimension to the popular concept of “designing out” occupational injury risks.

The standard, Prevention Through Design: Guidelines for Addressing Occupational Risks in Design and Redesign Processes (Z590.3), will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. It offers guidance on incorporating a prevention-through-design approach in workplace occupational safety and health management systems.

“This standard supports and gives guidance for the well-established premise that occupational hazards and risks are most effectively and economically avoided, eliminated, or controlled in the design and redesign process,” said Fred Manuele, a certified safety professional, and engineer who is chairman of the Z590.3 standard committee and a member of the National Safety Council’s Institute for Safety Through Design advisory committee. Z590.3 complements, rather than replaces, performance objectives existing in other specific standards and procedures. The goals are to:

achieve acceptable risk level;
prevent or reduce occupationally related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities; and
reduce the cost of retrofitting necessary to mitigate hazards and risks that were not sufficiently addressed in design or redesign processes.

According to the standard, the acceptable risk is “risk for which the probability of an incident or exposure occurring and the severity of harm or damage that may result are as low as reasonably practicable in the setting being considered.”

The standard has the support of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which established adoption as a major priority under its National Initiative on Prevention Through Design (refer to PtD National Initiative: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ptd/). NIOSH’s partners in the initiative include the ASSE, American Industrial Hygiene Association, Center to Protect Workers’ Rights, Kaiser Permanente, Liberty Mutual, National Safety Council, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Mercer/ORC Worldwide, and the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering at Purdue University. The Regenstrief Center applies scientific research to improve aspects of healthcare delivery systems ranging from medication safety to patient and family engagement.

More About the Standard

ANSI approval establishes a foundation for the widespread adoption of prevention-through-design principles and provides tools for establishing acceptable risk. The standard includes a model for balancing environmental and occupational safety and health goals over the life span of a facility, process, or product.

It focuses on four key stages of occupational risk management: pre-operational, operational, post-incident, and post-operational. Each stage includes avoidance, elimination, reduction, and control of occupational safety and health hazards and risks in the design and redesign process. The standard applies to work processes and areas, tools, equipment, machinery, and substances.

The standard requires top management to use one or more of the following methods:

Designate personnel within the organization who have the necessary knowledge and skills to anticipate, identify, and analyze hazards assess the risks deriving from them, and/or establish appropriate hazard identification training mechanisms for personnel.
Engage outside consultants with expertise in hazard identification, analysis, and risk assessment to assist with the acquisition or redesign of existing or new facilities, equipment, technologies, materials, or processes.
Establish written contracts/arrangements with suppliers of newly acquired facilities, equipment, technologies, processes, or materials to fulfill these responsibilities.

ASSE serves as the ANSI secretariat for 11 standards committees, working with professionals worldwide to establish best practices for protecting people, property, and the environment. ASSE has published more than 60 standards and has several new standards under development. For more information, visit www.asse.org/publications/standards.

Motion is Money

This program was featured at PureSafety’s recent User Conference. PureSafety supports Occupational Health Manager (OHM) and SYSTOC software and is a member of the NAOHP Vendor Program. Motion is Money is a process developed by CNA, a major insurer, to help employers assess and reduce soft tissue injuries associated with repetitive tasks by eliminating unnecessary movement. The intent is to view physical activity not only as an exposure risk but as a production and efficiency issue.

“We must still address risk factors, but we have to move beyond that approach,” said Brian Roberts, director of risk control for CNA. “We become so accustomed to seeing work performed in a certain way that it is hard to perceive it in a new way. When we carefully observe workers’ movements in relation to productivity, it soon becomes apparent that improved efficiency is directly correlated with a reduction in risk factors.” Optimally, a Motion is Money-style approach has a halo effect for workplace safety and health professionals, he said.

Rather than being a cost center, proactive health and safety programs become a revenue generator by helping to improve productivity and reduce costs while protecting worker well-being.

Cumulative Effects

On a production line, think of the time and money that could be saved if the process was redesigned to reduce repetitive activity that takes a toll on workers over time.

For instance, it takes about 30 seconds to walk 50 paces or bend to pick something up 10 times. It takes five seconds to put down or pick up a tool. If an employee in distribution is required to repeatedly bend over and use a tool to pick material up off the floor or reach into a bin while performing his or her daily job, that worker will bend over 25,000 to 30,000 times a year. Multiply that by the number of employees doing the same thing, the number of days they typically work, their wages and benefits and it rapidly becomes a staggering amount. The solution may be as simple as moving material closer to workstations or improving access to tools. Sometimes mechanical devices such as lift tables, hoists or manipulators are the best answer.

Mr. Roberts reported that reductions in unnecessary physical activity have been shown to produce an average return on investment of $16 to $1; a single-point reduction in risk improves

productivity by the same percentage. However, it takes at least a year of data gathering and analysis (measuring the frequency and severity of injuries) to validate results against an established baseline. In the meantime, Mr. Roberts said, “Anything you can do to keep a guy who is 52 years old injury-free and productive is a big deal. If you can make even small changes that affect productivity, efficiency and/or quality, then you can develop measurable results much more quickly.”

Recommended Steps

Observe:
Spend 30 to 60 minutes observing workers walking, bending, reaching and carrying. Cease conversation, take notes, and focus on what could be done differently to reduce repetitive movement. Consider body mechanics, distance, frequency and weight of materials being handled.

Measure distance walked:
Ask employees to estimate and write down the distance they walk while at work. Provide pedometers to measure the actual distance walked. People tend to underestimate the number of steps they take.

Follow the worker:
Trace employees’ movements in pencil on a drawing of the work area being studied (this is known as a “spaghetti chart”).

Consider staging:
Where are materials and products stored? What is the production cycle or flow? How is material positioned in relation to assembly, installation/ completion? How many times is a piece handled?

Evaluate tools:
Are they being properly handled? For example, ulnar deviation when using a tool reduces strength by about 25 percent; flexion reduces strength up to 45 percent. “This puts people behind the eight ball from the start, and then we ask them to really produce!” Mr. Roberts said.

Use value-stream mapping:
Analyze each step in a process to identify steps that add or diminish value. (This is a “lean” manufacturing technique originally developed by Toyota to follow the flow of materials and information required to deliver a product or service to the end user.)

Annualize all measurements:
This includes the number of trips and the number of active minutes per observation. “Management often does not see or understand the cost of one or two movements. When it is annualized it makes a much bigger impression,” Mr. Roberts noted.

Five ‘S’ Words
He also recommends focusing on five “s” words:

Sorting (or “treasure hunting”): Eliminate everything in the work-space that is not needed as part of efforts to maintain orderliness and efficiency.
Simplifying: Label materials, tools and storage areas so they are easy to recognize; ensure items are always returned to their designated area.
Systematic cleaning: Everyone is responsible for upkeep and routine housekeeping.
Standardizing: Consistently follow best practices for equipment and material handling and other work techniques.
Sustaining: Establish programs to keep workers from slipping back into old habits. Hold management and supervisors accountable. “Opportunities to eliminate wasted motion represent a journey, not a destination,” Mr. Roberts said. “Pick one product line to create your first success story. Learn to observe and really understand what employees are doing out there. If you just sit and watch for an hour, you are not wasting time. A systematic process of measuring performance against established criteria or best practices results in improved profitability.”