October 2001

Just like a well-designed P&L statement, a customer survey should provide managers with decision-making information. In today’s world of consolidations, roll-ups, beachheads and tuck-ins, it makes good business sense to use every tool at your disposal to secure customer relationships. A survey can provide you with valuable customer information if you create it based on three fundamentals of effective surveys: survey design, survey analysis and survey uses. However, each of these has two major pitfalls to avoid.

Survey Design

Pitfall 1:

The survey “asks” the wrong questions. Too many surveys are written from the vendor’s point of view. Solution: Write the survey from the customer’s perspective. Use focus groups or telephone interviews to ask the customer, 1) how they experience the delivery of the service from their point of view and 2) what factor do they consider when making a purchase decision for your service. Customer responses can then be incorporated into the survey design. Include several open-ended questions: What are your pet peeves with our service? What other services do you need? If you like our work, would you provide us with three referrals?

Pitfall 2: The survey is designed to rate satisfaction. Satisfaction levels are notoriously poor indicators of loyalty. Solution: On the other hand, value measurements show a strong relationship to loyalty. The survey should rate perceived value instead of satisfaction. In order to accomplish this objective, the survey must include importance rankings as well as the more traditional performance (satisfaction) ratings. Use a 1-to-5 scale to rate performance satisfaction with each of the survey statements. Then add a second level of response by asking the customer to rank the survey statements using a 100-point scale. Include a price statement like, “Services are worth what we paid for” to get at the trade-off between price and quality.

Survey Analysis

Pitfall 1:

The surveyor can over-rely on qualitative information – the verbal feedback provided by customers – and under-emphasize the numeric, quantitative responses. The reason often given is that verbal responses are more meaningful than numeric. More meaningful? Maybe. More representative? Probably not. Verbal commentary is rarely representative of the majority of customer opinions. Solution: Use both kinds of feedback – qualitative (open-ended verbal questions) and quantitative (numerically rated statements). Use an Excel spreadsheet to capture numeric responses. Use the data functions to analyze averages, ranges, variations and value index. This kind of analysis enables managers to isolate areas of critical weakness (loyalty leakage) by comparing performance ratings with importance rankings. Work on areas where performance is 4 or below and importance is 20 points or above. Use verbal feedback as a reason to call individual customers.

Pitfall 2: Sample size is a problem in any kind of research. Small samples provide unreliable data. This is especially true in customer surveys. This can be a problem because overall survey return rates can be low – less than 2%. Secondly, the returns are often skewed to the high and low ends of the bell curve thereby omitting data about the majority of customers in the middle. Solution: There are three ways to increase survey returns thereby improving the quality of the sample. 1) Keep the survey short – no multiple-page surveys. Write “Seven Minute Survey” in bold across the top of the survey. 2) Provide a gift, like a piece of candy with a message: In the time it takes to finish this chocolate you can finish and fax this important survey back to us.” 3) Place a follow-up phone call within three days of your mailing. Take responses over the phone if possible. Finally, stagger your survey mailings.

Survey one quarter of your customers every three months. Using this approach, you will be able to survey all your customers in 12 months getting a more complete and valid sample.

Survey Uses

The ultimate objectives are to 1) eliminate customer defections, 2) develop new products and services, 3) identify referral opportunities and 4) improve overall job quality.

Pitfall 1: Many companies provide the customer nothing in the way of feedback regarding the results of the survey. This hurts future survey returns and doesn’t take advantage of public relations opportunities. Solution: Pen a one-page letter from the president to all customers – regardless of whether they responded. Customers appreciate feedback from any survey they complete. Direct your account mangers to hand deliver the results, when possible. This often leads to better relationships, add-on sales and referrals.

Pitfall 2: Employees in many companies never see the survey results. In effect, the company misses an excellent opportunity to train and reward work crews while helping to improve their performance. Solution: Chart the results and post them on the bulletin board. Put the results on a flip chart and discuss at monthly management meetings. The most efficient customer service company I ever observed reviewed survey results every month. They handed out cash rewards or held a pizza party when crews achieved gains or exceeded goals.

If you don’t provide your customers with value, someone else might. You can avoid defections by measuring value and making constant improvements in your services and operations. Remember, what gets measured gets looked at. What gets looked at gets talked about. What gets talked about gets acted upon.

This information is brought to you as an ALCA service by the Education Committee. If you would like additional information on the educational opportunities offered through ALCA,  please contact Elise Lindsey, Education Committee Liaison at 800-395-2522 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Workman’s compensation claims can put a company out of business if not taken seriously. While prevention is the preferred method of dealing with potential employee injuries, unfortunately, such injuries do occur and must be dealt with in some fashion. Getting injured employees proper, timely medical care, so that they can return to work quickly, is a key factor in keeping workman’s compensation premiums within reason. Not paying attention to what is happening can prove disastrous in the form of increased premiums, decreased productivity in your work force, and a negative effect on your profits. Assuming that the insurance company will “take care of it” is archaic and implies ignorance of the facts surrounding injury management. And, make no mistake – it should be viewed as injury “management” as you can manage the process of getting an employee the proper care in an effort to return that employee to an active work capacity. This doesn’t mean that companies should take a callous attitude towards good medical attention for an injured employee. However, not paying attention to the proper aftercare may promote abuses to the system and, therefore, dramatically escalate the costs associated with such insurance coverage.

When an employee is injured in any way while on the job, a report of the circumstances surrounding the injury should be generated. Even minor injuries may balloon into a major medical crisis if not treated properly. If an employee fails to report such an injury, and if no one at your company is aware of the incident, it can cause procedural problems later on. One person, an “Injury Manager,” if you will, should be in charge of documenting and following the injury from initial report to final disposition. All communication, documentation and information should flow through this one person so that nothing is lost. This includes proper, regular ongoing communication with the injured employee, the claims adjuster in charge of the case, the medical professional and the company itself.

Having a “Panel of Providers” is also essential to the entire process. Employees are notified when hired that there is an approved panel of medical providers that they are to see in the event of a work-related injury. While insurance carriers have a recommended panel of physicians, hospitals and medical facilities with which they work well, the insured (your company) should be able to have input into what doctors/facilities are listed on the panel. (Please note: from a legal standpoint some states do not allow employers to direct injured employees to specific medical facilities. Check your specific state’s laws.) These providers have the same goal as the company — to be certain that the employee receives the proper care and treatment as well as to get him or her back to work as soon as possible after recovery.

Should the work related injury require hospital or medical attention, the person in charge of injury management has the right and should accompany the employee to (or meet at) the doctor’s office, hospital or medical facility. Some companies will insist that the Injury

Manager be with the injured employee as soon as physically possible after the injury occurs, and then stay with the injured employee through the first hours of treatment, whether it is at a doctor’s office, the hospital or the physical rehabilitation center. Often, the injury is such (a non-emergency) that it can be treated in a doctor’s office instead of a hospital, thus saving considerable dollars for the company or the insurance carrier. A good Injury Manager can assist in this initial determination. Once at the doctor’s office (or hospital outpatient facility), should the medical professional decide that additional treatment is necessary, the injured employee and the Injury Manager can be transported to the recommended facility. The Injury Manager should then communicate with the doctor in charge so as to ascertain what additional immediate treatment is needed (if necessary) as well as what aftercare may be required.

Unfortunately, some injured employees may not adhere to the prescribed follow-up procedures and/or appointments, causing inadequate or insufficient attention to proper ongoing care. The Injury Manager should stay on top of the situation by communicating with the injured employee regularly. In some cases, it is advisable for the Injury Manager to accompany the employee to the aftercare doctors’ visits to ensure that the employee is adhering to the proper care program. Keep in mind that (essentially) you are footing the bill for the employee’s care through your insurance premiums, thus necessitating your participation in getting the employee ‘healed’ and able to return to work. At these aftercare visits, the Injury Manager has the right to talk with the physician to ascertain what is needed in order to assist with the recuperating process. Often, the Case Manager from the insurance carrier will also attend these appointments to keep accurate records of the entire process. Good communication is a key element in getting the employee back to work as soon as possible.

Part of the injury management process is to have a “light duty” work program in place so that the injured employee can go back to work, earn a paycheck and feel productive. Additionally, the Injury Manager can oversee the remainder of the recuperation process. Sometimes this light duty work schedule must be tailored to the individual employee’s immediate injury needs, however prior extensive studies show that getting them back to work is much more advisable than allowing the injured employee to sit around doing nothing productive. Interestingly, it’s been proven that performing light duty work often accelerates the desire to return to regular work status and positively affects the recuperation process.

As noted several times in this, and many other Safetyscapes articles, communication is a major factor in successfully returning the injured employee to full-time, full-duty work status. Communicate with the employee immediately after the injury occurs. Communicate with the medical professional to determine a proper care and light duty work regime. Communicate with the insurance company’s injury management specialists so that they don’t just keep writing out checks to the employee, when in fact, the employee is medically able and ready to return to work. Continue to communicate with the injured employee so that he or she knows you care and that the company is concerned that proper care is being given by the medical professional, and so that you can keep tabs on progress with the recuperation process.

This information is brought to you as an ALCA service by the Education Committee. If you would like additional information on the educational opportunities offered through ALCA,  please contact Elise Lindsey, Education Committee Liaison at 800-395-2522 or by e-mail at [email protected].

OneSource Landscape & Golf Services, Inc. Summer Landscape Internship Program at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida

OneSource Landscape & Golf Services, Inc. hosted seven bright college interns from across the country and across the ocean this past summer at Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida. OneSource has maintained the beautiful landscapes there for a remarkable 26 years. Seasonal interns offer enthusiasm, solid work ethics, and a fresh perspective as well as new ideas. They are excited to be working for OneSource at one of the finest theme parks in Florida with an award winning horticultural team. The intern group we had this summer was among the best we have ever experienced.

Participating interns included Sara Pate from the University of Tennessee, Laura Lanzon, Ondrea Kassarijian, and Kelly Brady from Michigan State, Jody Naegeli and Janelle Werk from North Dakota State and Monica Cassanovas from the University of Barcelona, Spain.

The landscape management team at the 365-acre Busch Gardens has actively recruited and looked to the intern program for new management talent for the past several years. Karen Odden, alumni of the internship from 1998, currently serves as a supervisor at Busch Gardens and as the internship coordinator.

When a supervisory position opened at the park a couple of years ago, we immediately thought of Karen as a potential candidate. The internship is an excellent screening process for future employees. Karen has a strong positive attitude. She is very flexible and finds a way to solve most problems and accomplish her goals. During her internship she volunteered to work landscape construction after the normal internship hours. The work was hard, dirty and the schedule was extremely demanding. Her outstanding performance left a very favorable impression which was remembered by the interviewing staff when it became time to fill the supervisory opening. Karen was already familiar with the project. She hit the ground running and has never slowed down.

New interns normally arrive in May or June and stay until August, although we have had students in the program through October. The program is typically about ten weeks long, but is flexible and can be lengthened to meet the individual needs of the student. We have been so pleased with the quality and caliber of the students participating that we are considering accepting students for a winter session. It is stressed during the interview process that a potential participant can expect an eye opening summer full of hard work, much practical and useful information, and real hands-on experience unavailable in a textbook setting. We have a job to get done and a service to provide. The students receive no favoritism, but blend in as an important part of the permanent team.

In pairs, the group is mingled with the full time employees. Some start out learning irrigation by installing new systems, performing maintenance or repairs. Others work with the annual color crew working with color beds or on containerized materials. Interns have the opportunity to test their creativity combining plant material, colors and textures in hanging baskets, pots and planters. The best are placed on display inside the park. Other parts of the schedule include turf or pest management, arboriculture and general landscape maintenance. The turf quality segment covers turf scouting, pesticide usage and sod installation. Arboriculture covers chainsaw usage and safety, proper pruning techniques and equipment maintenance. Volunteers can tower 40 to 50 feet above the ground in a high reach or put on a safety harness and get a feel for climbing. General landscape maintenance may include small equipment, utility vehicle and tractor operation and safety. We cover the basic essentials of pruning, weeding, watering, raking, mulching, fertilizing and detailing. Time permitting, we include some plant material information and landscape installation. Since the park is also a well-respected zoo, we stress animal safety in regard to plant foraging and pesticide usage. The group gets to mount a feed truck and head out onto the African-themed veldt for a close encounter with the park’s animal inhabitants. The group is also treated to a visit to Busch Gardens’ one hundred-acre zoological breeding and holding facility in neighboring Pasco County. To further diversify the program, students may choose to fulfill their internship requirements at the 30-acre Adventure Island waterpark adjacent to Busch Gardens, where OneSource also maintains the landscapes.

Our client sincerely appreciates the added value brought to Busch Gardens by our interns. The interns are beginning lifelong careers, are keenly interested and willing to learn. While here, they are encouraged to visit other area theme parks and maintenance operations during organized field trips. At the internship’s conclusion, the participants are required to complete a program evaluation. Every student remarked about the quality of their experience and offered that they would recommend the program to future students.

This information is brought to you as an ALCA service by the Education Committee. If you would like additional information on the educational opportunities offered through ALCA,  please contact Elise Lindsey, Education Committee Liaison at 800-395-2522 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Most everyone knows the construction industry is suffering a labor crunch.  Companies in many areas of the country are clamoring for all types of personnel from electricians, to roofers, to project managers, to superintendents, to accounting staff. This labor crunch has had a dramatic effect on the cost of this labor, i.e., salaries, hourly wages, bonuses, perquisites, etc., and companies’ responses to higher labor costs.

The average increase in compensation costs for all employees in the construction industry has settled between 4 and 5 percent the last two years. That average increase however, is just the tip of the iceberg as compensation costs for some key positions have risen much faster. High-performing project superintendents other field managers, and project managers are extremely difficult to hire and companies are responding by increasing their compensation well above the 4-to-5 percent range. Some companies are also offering signing bonuses.

Construction management companies have realized the cost of losing good employees and recruiting replacements and have placed renewed emphasis on retention. The cost to hire an employee, train and pay them for five years and then hire a replacement often approaches $500,000 to $750,000. There are also hidden costs in lost productivity, reduced morale, burn out for remaining employees, and sometimes increased competition. It is obvious that, in most cases, it is advantageous to retain high-performing employees. The question is: how should companies structure compensation packages to keep high-performing people, while holding down fixed compensation costs?

Compensation Packages

The most effective compensation elements to help retain key employees are incentive compensation, deferred compensation, and stock. Let’s take a look at what many construction companies are doing with these different elements:

Incentive compensation – Large base salaries have bowed out in recent years in favor of incentive compensation or pay-for-performance plans. Many companies have minimized base-salary increases in favor of aggressive incentive-compensation plans that potentially pay large bonuses if individual and company performance warrant such amounts. One word of warning: make sure base salaries are competitive before you implement this type of plan. The incentive compensation plan needs to be designed to differentiate bonus amounts even within the same positions for the highest-performing employees. For example, average performing project managers may have the opportunity to make a bonus of 10 to 15 percent of their salary, whereas super-star project managers have the opportunity to make 20 to 40 percent of their salary. The higher bonus amounts are deferred for 3 to 5 years. If a company pays a large bonus, the employee gets a portion of it in the current year and the balance is deferred over 3 to 5 years. This occurs yearly, so employees back bonus amounts for years into the future. Accumulated deferred bonuses are forfeited if the employee leaves the company voluntarily. Generally, the highest-performing employees like these plans since they give them the opportunity to make large bonuses.

Deferred compensation – These plans defer money above base salary and bonus for pay out at some point in the future. They are usually established as non-qualified plans to give companies flexibility in design, allowing them to offer it to a limited number of employees. A typical plan defers a portion of the annual calculated amount until retirement at a specified age, and the balance vests over a 5-to-7-year period. Again, employees bank deferred amounts for a period of years. This type of plan creates golden handcuffs for retirement, but also allows employees to receive distributions once vesting requirements are met. Phantom stock is a variation of typical deferred compensation plans. These are stock-appreciation units – not real stock – that increase in value over time if the company achieves stated levels of performance. The simplest phantom stock plans peg the value of the phantom stock to the value of the “real” stock. Thus, as real stock value increases, so does phantom stock value. This is an employee-retention vehicle since the greatest benefits occur over a relatively long period of time.

Stock – Stock plans have not been used extensively in the construction industry for a variety of reasons. The construction industry often perceives that stock plans and buy-sell agreements add complexity to personnel changes. Owners, who are used to making decisions quickly and decisively, are concerned that adding stockholders will create management by committee. Stock ownership usually creates considerable loyalty and devotion to companies. It can reinforce correct decision-making and retain employees who perceive it as the ultimate reward for long-term performance. Stock options that may be exercised over several years help retain the full amount of the option. This benefit requires the stock price to continually increase in value. Thus, companies must achieve long-term and consistent financial performance to realize the retention benefit of stock.

Non-monetary Considerations

Many non-monetary facets in companies facilitate employee retention, as well. Developing and communicating career paths for employees increases job satisfaction. Training is also tremendously satisfying to employees, as is allowing them to work in self-directed work teams. Developing a positive and inspiring company culture based on rock-solid core values will help retain employees and decrease compensation importance. In other words, employees will choose to work for companies with positive and nurturing cultures for less total compensation. Do not push this too far, however, as employees will accept only small differences in total compensation.

Conclusion

In this era of tight labor and increasing compensation costs, companies must develop and take advantage of every possible strategy to keep key employees. Design and implementation of creative compensation plans that reward superior performance and motivate key employees to stay with the company are critical. In addition, non-monetary areas must be continually developed and thoroughly communicated to employees. By melding these elements, you can create a best-of-class, highly productive organization with low turnover and tremendous motivation.

This information is brought to you as an ALCA service by the Education Committee. If you would like additional information on the educational opportunities offered through ALCA,  please contact Elise Lindsey, Education Committee Liaison at 800-395-2522 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Minor back strains and sprains, usually associated with lifting or handling tasks, occur often to workers. These injuries usually manifest as upper or lower back pain. Low back pain is second only to the common cold as the most frequent cause of absence from work. Most low back pain incidents abate quickly, and generally allow workers to return to work. However, severe sprains and strains, which may be associated with incidents such as falls from heights or automobile accidents, will usually require longer periods for recovery.

In addition to the many minor sprains and strains which are common in industry, low back pain cases are also the most chronic and costly back ailment. Chronic cases usually are not attributable to a specific event, although many in industry mistakenly attempt to relate such cases to particular events. These back injuries can be viewed as cumulative trauma, developing over a period of weeks, months, or years, and result in nonspecific low back pain. Because of the tendency to relate all back injuries to a single traumatic event, usually the activity being performed at the onset of symptoms, workers suffering from low back pain may be seen as malingerers, especially when this activity is lighter work.

LOW BACK PAIN

Unlike common sprains and strains, which are known to involve muscles, tendons, and ligaments, non-specific low back pain is termed “idiopathic”, having no known specific cause. The condition is painful and can seriously impair a person’s ability to function. Although low back pain is usually episodic in nature, chronic or residual pain due to cumulative trauma may develop. Chronic, rather than episodic pain most often affects workers in their 40’s. Among still older workers, those in their 50’s and 60’s, the incidence of low back pain tends to decrease.

INCIDENCE

The largest incidence of low back pain for males occurs between the ages of 20-24, and for females between 24 and 34. However, younger workers tend to have less severe disorders than their older counterparts. Usually, the condition improves quickly in younger workers. The most severe cases tend to occur to workers in their late 30s and 40s. The average age of patients undergoing diskectomy (surgery to the discs to repair damage) is 42.

Low back pain is pervasive throughout our population, 80% of the general population experience some form of the condition at some point in their lifetimes. Sciatica, a neuritis of the sciatic nerve running through the back of the thigh near the low back, affects 40% of the general population at some time in their life. Sciatica and low back pain are often linked, and sometimes are difficult to differentiate. Fourteen percent of the population are experiencing low back pain at any given time. Low back impairment (reduced ability to function) affects about 11% of the U.S. working population each year.

Low back disability (lost time or restricted work) affects about 2% of the industrial population each year, which accounts for 20% to 25% of compensation claims for lost wages. In terms of low back cases overall, relatively few cases account for the vast majority of costs.

Total annual costs for low back injuries in the United States has been estimated at $20 billion dollars or more. Low back pain is clearly a serious and prevalent problem in our society. Only 25% of low back cases account for 95% of the costs. Larger insurance carriers pay out millions per working day for low back claims.

RETURN TO WORK

Following injury, 81% of patients can be expected to return to work, with the odds of returning to work decreasing with the length of time the employee is away from work. After a worker has been away from work with a back injury for 2 years, the probability of ever returning to work is nearly zero (McGill, Rosen). Social and psychological variables are more predictive of return to work than the physical severity of the injury. Consequently, there exists a limited time frame for employers to get workers back to work. If employers require full recovery before allowing workers to return, the employer has increased the probability that the worker will never return. Alternative, “light duty”, or modified work is generally less expensive in the long term than requiring “100%” recovery. The 100% rule is generally viewed by experts as one of management’s inadvertent contributions to the problem of costly low back pain.

Following an initial episode of back pain, a worker is 4 times more likely to have a recurrence. The group of workers that have already experienced an episode of low back pain are the most likely candidates for future episodes. No elaborate screening tests are needed to identify these workers, since they are known to employers through injury records.

CAUSES

The specific cause of low back pain is unknown. Most authorities believe that low back pain is caused by changes in the spine, usually as one gets older. Heavy workloads are thought to merely trigger the occurrence of symptoms. Due to the natural aging process, most of us can expect to experience some amount of low back pain in our lifetimes. When activities involve strenuous work, frequent handling of materials, frequent bending or twisting, or handling of heavy loads, the probability for injury increases.

MATERIALS HANDLING

Manual materials handling tasks are associated with 63% of cases, and include lifting tasks, twisting, bending, reaching, and excessive weights. Also associated with low back pain are prolonged sitting, and exposure to vibration, as when driving or riding on vehicles. Personal or psychological variables such as smoking, obesity, and low job satisfaction are also associated with low back pain cases.

While personal variables are difficult to control, controlled worksite conditions can be achieved through good job or task design. Good job design also can improve job satisfaction, making claims less likely. Manual materials handling tasks represent an area where employers have much opportunity to improve job designs in order to prevent low back injuries.

PREVENTION: ERGONOMICS

Good ergonomic job design, including proper workplace layout, appropriate use of mechanical aids, appropriate seat design, optimum work levels, sit/stand workstations, and matching object weights to human capabilities can go far toward reducing low back injuries. It has been estimated that good ergonomic job design can be expected to reduce compensation claims by up to 33%. Some ergonomists claim that up to 50% of costs could be avoided.

Good job design can prevent initial episodes, and also reduce costs of claims by allowing the injured worker to stay on the job longer, and by permitting the worker to return to the job sooner. Good design should be the first approach attempted to reduce injuries and associated costs. Other measures may include employee selection, and worker training. All measures are necessary in order to substantially reduce low back episodes.

CAN TRAINING PREVENT INJURIES?

Until recently, most prevention efforts have focused on training workers with limited regard to job design. The results of such efforts have been poor to mixed. Effects of training have been temporary at best, since they do not represent permanent change. When production demands are high, workers tend to revert back to old ways of doing the job. Often, these are “short-cuts” that are quicker, but present greater risk of injury. One of the primary reasons for this lack of success with training has been poor job design. Workers cannot usually be trained to work beyond their physical limitations without mechanical assistance. However, since training presents one of the lower cost potential solutions to this problem – at least initially – it has been a very popular approach among safety professionals and employers. One study (Scholey) compared the incidence of low back pain among physiotherapists involved in back care education with the incidence of low back pain in a control group. Such educators are very knowledgable about care of the back, safe lifting, and related topics. But this seems to have made little difference, as they too experience back pain. No significant difference in incidence or recurrence was found between the two groups!

IDENTIFICATION OF HAZARDS

In 1993, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a technical report which was a follow-up to their 1981 technical report on lifting guidelines. The NIOSH lifting guidelines were established as an effort which combined several different approaches to estimating stresses on the low back into a single set of equations. This mathematical model (an equation or set of equations that attempts to represent physical reality mathematically) has been used to estimate the compression force on the disc between the fifth lumbar vertebrae and the sacrum, the site of about half of all low back pain incidents. The input variables include the position of the load in relation to the body. Also included is the frequency of the lifting task, and the vertical distance that the load is moved. This model has been useful for estimating low back stress, but has several limitations. The model assumes only a smooth lift (no jerk) with two hands, and assumes no space constraints. The NIOSH model is easily applied and therefore useful to the loss control professional. Various other models and methods are available for assessing manual materials handling tasks as well. These include force limits determined through psychophysical studies, biomechanical analyses, EMG based studies, and other related approaches. Detailed discussion of each of these is beyond the scope of this bulletin.

ERGONOMIC JOB DESIGN

Once a task or set of tasks has been identified as hazardous, a thorough approach to redesign should be followed. Generally, the hazardous task should be:

1. eliminated– through materials flow redesign, automation, revised work layout, or mechanization.
2. mechanized, assisted, or supported– by adding materials handling devices such as lift-tables, converting lifting and lowering tasks to pushing and pulling tasks by use of slides, chutes, conveyors; convert carrying tasks to pushing and pulling tasks by using carts, dollies, conveyors; using other assists/supports such as adjustable chairs with back rests for prolonged sitting, and sit/stand workstation stools or benches, to allow for changing postures.
3. performed within population capabilities and limitations – reduced and optimized– reduce lifting and lowering requirements by breaking up loads, providing loads at optimal vertical and horizontal locations; optimizing layout to reduce reaching, bending, and twisting; keeping all force requirements within population capabilities; reducing push and pull forces by using air bearings, ball caster tables, or large diameter casters on push or pull carts.

Obviously, these approaches overlap to some extent. The first effort should be to eliminate altogether the need to handle materials manually. A review of materials flow can determine if the materials are unnecessarily deposited temporarily, and then later moved again. Have materials moved directly to their final destination whenever possible. Mechanizing or automating can also eliminate lifting, lowering, pushing, or pulling tasks. Finally, tasks which are not eliminated or mechanized should be carefully designed to match the worker population’s capabilities and limitations.

DESIGN AXIOMS

The following design axioms or principles are useful to guide the design of jobs to eliminate unnecessary hazards.

• DO NOT LIFT THAT WHICH MUST BE LOWERED LATER
• DO NOT LOWER THAT WHICH MUST BE LIFTED LATER
• USE GRAVITY, DO NOT OPPOSE IT
• CONVERT LIFTING/LOWERING TASKS TO PUSHING/PULLING TASKS

Do not store materials on the floor that could be stored on a platform. This will eliminate both the lifting and lowering elements of the materials handling tasks. Likewise, avoid storing materials on high shelves, especially heavy materials that may create a falling hazard as well. Don’t have workers move objects against gravity, as from a low cart up to a conveyor, and from that conveyor to a higher shelf. However, the opposite direction of flow, going with gravity, is more desirable.

• AVOID EXTREMES OF JOINT MOVEMENT
• AVOID STATIC MUSCLE LOADING (exertion without movement)
• PROVIDE ADJUSTABILITY, FIT A RANGE-NOT THE AVERAGE
• GIVE SUPPORT TO THE BODY
• DO NOT HAVE THE WORKER REACH BEHIND

An example of extreme joint movement is a worker bending at the waist to retrieve heavy parts from the bottom of a barrel. Instead, find a way to dump the barrel, preferably onto a platform near waist height. Static muscle loading is any prolonged posture which requires exertion to maintain, such as bending forward over a work table. Instead, adjust the table height, or adjust the worker’s standing level (raise or lower the worker). A rule of thumb is to have the work activity at about two to four inches below the worker’s elbow height. For any prolonged posturing, such as a seated typist or draftsman, occasional posture changes are desirable. Adjustability is necessary whenever different workers use the same workstation. A good chair is important support for seated workers, while armrests or supports, even frontal support to the chest, may be recommendable for a worker whose arms or back may be statically loaded, as in working above heart level, or a draftsman or dentist that must lean forward. Workplace layouts should be designed to avoid having workers reach behind to deposit or retrieve items. This action usually induces a twisting of the spine that can cause serious spinal injury when performed repeatedly, especially if a load is added.

• KEEP LIFTS BETWEEN KNUCKLE AND SHOULDER HEIGHT
• LET THE WORKER GET CLOSE TO THE LOAD

The optimum vertical location for lifting an object is grasping the item at about 30 inches from the floor. The closer to this vertical location a lift is, the better. Even more important is whether or not the worker can get close to the load, and stay close to the load when depositing it. Any obstruction to getting the worker close to the load should be removed through redesign of the task.

• REDUCE VIBRATION AT ITS SOURCE
• REDUCE TRANSMISSION OF VIBRATION
• AVOID 4-8 HZ VIBRATION OF THE WHOLE-BODY
• REDUCE THE DURATION OF EXPOSURE TO VIBRATION

Exposure to whole-body vibration is known to increase the likelihood of low back pain. Vibrations should be reduced to the extent possible. This can be accomplished by various vibration damping

techniques, redesign of equipment, addition of vibration absorbing materials, and rotating workers to reduce exposure. Vibration affects many workers that operate equipment or machinery, especially vehicles. Truck drivers are usually exposed to whole-body vibration, often for long periods.

• LISTEN TO THE WORKER/LET THE WORKER HAVE A SAY

Workers that have been performing tasks or jobs for many months or years usually have some good suggestions on how the job design could be improved. This valuable source of information should not be overlooked.

SELECTION

The most reliable selection effort is a carefully collected medical history and thorough examination. X-rays or other radiologic exams are not recommended as part of the medical examination. Several studies have shown surprisingly little relationship between clinical symptoms and radiologic changes of degeneration. Isometric strength capability has been shown to be a useful predictor of problems. The probability of a musculoskeletal disorder is up to three times greater when lifting requirements approach or exceed a worker’s isometric strength capability. However, some researchers find this approach fundamentally flawed, since most work is performed dynamically, not statically. Data on dynamic strength testing concerning effectiveness in reducing low back injury is not currently available.

TRAINING

Employee training in safe lifting practices, while a part of the corrective action process, should not be considered the sole remedy. Several studies indicate that current industrial training by itself has limited to no effect on low back injury rates.

Since uninjured workers are more difficult to motivate, training may be more appropriate for:

– who are more motivated to act safely following an injury.

• Management

– who require information about low back injuries, and the need for offering encouragement and follow-up, not requiring 100% recovery before allowing a return to work and providing modified, alternative or part-time work.

Some jobs, where the tasks performed and risk factors to which workers are exposed may vary considerably during the work shift, may be inherently difficult to design or control (i.e., firefighters, police, beverage or other delivery). For these types of jobs worker selection and training can be used to help control injuries. Emphasis on high quality technical training on safe lifting procedures relating to specific job tasks should yield the best results.

EQUIPMENT

Many new equipment designs now account for ergonomics considerations. Easily available are such devices as various types of lift tables, turntables, spring or pneumatically loaded leveling tables, mechanical lifts which can be loaded flat on the ground (“zero-lifts”), mobile or portable conveyors,

inverters which turn or orient materials, and myriad other devices. In addition, height adjustable worktables and angled bin or tote racks are inexpensive and available. For information on materials handling products, the Materials Handling Institute in Pittsburgh, PA, may be of assistance. Formed in 1945, the Institute consists of consultants, manufacturers, and integrators of materials handling systems, and addresses the technical and product specific elements of the materials handling industry. In 1988, the Materials Handling Industry of America was formed to allow broader representation of the entire materials handling industry. MHIA sponsors educational and trade events such as “ProMat,” an international material handling show and forum held in the United States. Their toll free number is 1-800-722-6832.

PERSONAL PROTECTION

An effort to afford workers personal protection in the form back belts which workers wear around their waste has been a popular attempt to control back injuries. However, mounting scientific evidence suggests that belts are very little, if any, protection to workers. Nor have belts been found to offer a psychological or motivational advantage to workers. There is some concern that belt wearing increases a worker’s blood pressure, and therefore introduces new risks, especially to workers with compromised cardiovascular systems. A better approach is good job design.

REFERENCES

Low Back Pain, Snook, Stover H., Liberty Mutual Insurance Company – Harvard School of Public Health, presented at Occupational Ergonomics II Engineering Conference, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, June 1990.

The Cost of Compensable Low Back Pain, Webster, Barbara S., Snook, Stover H., Journal of Occupational Medicine, Vol. 32, No. 1, January 1990.

Occupational Biomechanics, Chaffin, Don B., Andersson, Gunnar B., John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, 1984.

Manual Materials Handling, Kroemer, K. H. E., presented at the Human Factors Society Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, October 1989.

Work Practices Guide for Manual Lifting, Technical Report, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Science, Cincinnati, OH, 1981.

Applications Manual for the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation, DHHS Publication number 94-110, National Technical Information Service, Washington, DC, 1994.

Human Aspects of Occupational Vibration, Wasserman, Donald E., Elsevier, New York, NY, 1987.

Industrial back problems, a control program, McGill, C. M., Journal of Occupational Medicine, 10:174-178, 1968.

Treating the many facets of pain, Rosen, N. B., Business & Health:7-10, May, 1986.

Back pain in physiotherapists involved in back care education, Ergonomics, Vol. 32, 1989, pp 179-190.

Fitting the Task to the Man, 4th Ed., Grandjean, Etienne, Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia, 1988.

Making the Job Easier: An Ergonomics Idea Book, National Safety Council, Chicago, 1988.

The effect of an abdominal belt on trunk muscle activity and intra-abdominal pressure during squat lifts, McGill, S., Norman, R. and Sharratt, M., Ergonomics, Vol. 33, no.2, 1990.

Effects of industrial back supports on physiological demand, lifting style and perceived exertion, Marley, R. J., and Duggasani, A. R., International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, vol. 17, no. 6, 1996.

Effects of back support on intra-abdominal pressure and lumbar kinetics during heavy lifting, Woodhouse, M., McCoy, R., Redondo, D., and Shall, L., Human Factors, vol. 37, no. 3, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Santa Monica, CA, 1995.

Lifting belts: a psychophysical analysis, Lavender, S., and Kenyeri, R., Ergonomics, vol. 38, no. 9, Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia, 1995.

This information is brought to you as an ALCA service by the Education Committee. If you would like additional information on the educational opportunities offered through ALCA,  please contact Elise Lindsey, Education Committee Liaison at 800-395-2522 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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ALCA, the nations leading trade association for the landscape service provider, and PlantAmerica, have teamed up to create a powerful service for the landscape service provider that will efficiently connect providers of landscape services to appropriate and interested buyers. It’s called “Landscape Finder.”

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