A Five Step Process for Finding WMSD* Hazards in Your Workplace

*Work-Related Musculo-Skeletal Disorders

This slide show provides…

…a method and a set of tools to help you find WMSD hazards in your workplace.

This slide show will help you…

Apply a simple process to identify WMSD hazards your workplace

Locate resources and contacts for more assistance

WMSDs are workplace injuries to the soft tissues such as:

• muscles

• tendons

• ligaments

• joints

• blood vessels

• nerves

WMSDs

Lifting Awkward postures Forceful gripping or pinching Repetitive motions Intensive keying Hand-arm vibration

Causes of WMSDsSome jobs include tasks which can cause injuries, such as:

A link to information on recommended safe exposure levels for these hazards is in the appendix at the end of this presentation

Five-step process for preventing WMSDs

1. Identify jobs that may have hazards

2. Educate and involve employees

3. Evaluate jobs for hazards

4. Identify and implement solutions

5. Re-evaluate to make sure solutions are effective

A concern

Step 1: Identify jobs that may have hazards

 Jobs with:

– Injuries

– Employee/supervisor concerns

– Bottlenecks

– Quality problems

– Unnecessary steps

Step 2: Educate and involve employees

Use safety committees or ergonomics committees

Provide employees with basic awareness of ergonomics principles. *

Have employees participate in finding and implementing solutions to hazards in their jobs. They have the most knowledge about their jobs. They may already know how to improve them.

* A link to a basic ergonomics awareness slide show is in the appendix at the end of this presentation.

Step 3: Evaluate jobs for hazards

Tools: – Checklists– Calculators for lifting tasks – Employee interviews

Also helpful:– Photos or videotape– Symptom surveys– Safety committee meeting minutes– OSHA 300 or incident logs– Claims history

Step 3: Evaluate jobs for hazards - Checklists

Checklists are quick ways to evaluate jobs to see if further review is needed

A link to easy-to-use checklists is in the appendix at the end of this presentation

Step 3: Evaluate jobs for hazards – Lifting Calculator

What you need to know:

Weight of item

Lifting location (hand zone)

Frequency of lifts

Duration of lifting

Does the person twist? Links to this calculator and two others are in the appendix at the end of this presentation

Step 3: Evaluate jobs for hazards - Interviews

How long does this job take? Why do you do this job this way? Do you get tired or feel any discomfort? Any ideas of ways to do it better?

Ask employees:

Ask supervisors:• Are there jobs that people do not like to do?

• Any complaints or symptoms of injury?

• Any bottlenecks or quality problems?

Step 3: Evaluate jobs for hazards – Photos or videos

A link to OSHA’s videotaping guidelines is in the Appendix at the end of this presentation.

Photos to show static postures

Videos to evaluate movements

Step 3: Evaluate jobs for hazards – symptom surveys

Symptom surveys are good ways to find problems before injuries occur

A link to a symptom survey form is in the Appendix at the end of this presentation.

Step 4: Identify and implement solutions

Solution Tools: Ergonomics Ideas Bank Industry Association Vendors Catalogs Create them in-house

A link to this web page is in the appendix at the end of this presentation

A link to a slide show showing simple solutions to common WMSD hazards is in the appendix at the end of this slide show

Step 5: Re-evaluate to see if solutions are effective

Use checklists and other tools to make sure you eliminated or reduced the hazards.

Make sure you did not create new hazards.

Ask workers if they feel better or notice positive differences.

Review your ergonomics activities once a year.

Help is available

L&I offers a number of services at no cost to employers in Washington State. Follow the links below to learn more:

– On-site consultations

– Workshops

– More information on ergonomics

Ergonomics Analysis Tools

Symptoms Survey

Checklists

OSHA Videotaping Guidelines

Lifting Calculators

ACGIH ® TLV ® for Lifting

L&I Lifting Calculator

L&I Lifting Analysis paper version

NIOSH Lifting Equation calculator

NIOSH Lifting Equation user manual

Appendix – Links to Helpful Tools

Ergonomics Awareness slide show

L&I Ergonomics Ideas Bank

Recommended exposure limits for preventing

WMSDs slide show

Common WMSD Hazards in Your Workplace and Some

Solution Ideas