On the third day of Industrial Ergonomics, my favorite safety crew gave to me….a rundown of 7 common mistakes in injury prevention programs and a $20 Home Depot gift card!
Welcome back to DORN’s 12 Days of Ergonomics, a blog series where we’re exploring some of today’s most important safety topics while giving away daily prizes for our readers!
Remember: For your chance to win the daily prize, share this blog on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok and tag the DORN Companies account so we can record your submission. For extra entries, you can share each day’s blog on multiple social media platforms and tag your friends and colleagues in the safety world.
Today’s prize: $20 Home Depot gift card!
The winner from Day 2 of the 12 Days of Ergonomics is Alex Bernstein. Check out his post!
7 Common Mistakes in Creating Injury Prevention Programs
- Trying a one-size-fits-all approach: While several tactics tend to be included in most injury prevention programs (ergonomic assessments, employee training, etc.), it’s crucial to take a detailed look at your organization at the department, facility, and individual levels to determine how best to tailor your program to the specific needs of your workforce. What works at one site might leave gaps elsewhere.
- Lack of follow-up: Injury prevention doesn’t stop with the ergonomic assessment, the pain relief session, or the training course. A successful program involves safety leaders making a personal investment and getting involved with employees to ensure that guidelines are being followed consistently and that interventions are continuing to work beyond the initial implementation.
- Ignoring root causes: Band-aid solutions may be convenient, but they’re unlikely to provide lasting success. Yes, it’s important to follow recommendations like installing new equipment, but more essential is investigating the true source of risk, which could lie in facility layout, task design, or biomechanical technique.
- Resistance to change: At both the management and employee levels, it’s important for safety professionals to acknowledge that change can be difficult. It’s on the safety team to continue to reinforce why changes are being made and communicate those concepts clearly so that employees understand how changes benefit them.
- Insufficient resources: Budgeting is always a challenge, especially in today’s economic landscape. That’s why it’s so important for safety professionals to secure buy-in from leadership at the early stages of building a safety program, so that resources can be properly allocated to implement interventions and accomplish safety goals.
- Lack of ongoing evaluation: It’s not enough to conduct an ergonomic assessment and rely on those results forever. Continuously re-evaluating a program’s elements and results allows for ongoing refinement that leads to better outcomes.
- Failure to integrate ergonomics into safety culture: Finally, safety is not just a set of tactics and interventions—it’s also something that must be fostered and nurtured in the culture of the workplace, from the leadership level all the way down. When managers and supervisors demonstrate their commitment to safety and accountability, those concepts are more likely to be effective at the employee level, creating a holistic culture that values safety and wellness.
Thank you for joining us for the 12 Days of Ergonomics! Remember to share this post on social media and tag the DORN account for your chance to win a $20 Home Depot gift card!
