ErgoHOWL

Quarter Three 2021

 

Participatory Ergonomics: What Is It and How Is It Implemented?

When businesses experience a rise in the number of strains, sprains, or other musculoskeletal disorders among employees, receive employee complaints about the physical demands of their job or have a high employee turnover rate, there are often deeper issues problems at the root cause of their issues.  These problems may also lead to inefficiencies, quality issues, or rework in the job processes as well.  Instead of having the health and safety personnel constantly “fire-fighting” issues, companies can identify and resolve the underlying problems by implementing a Participatory Ergonomics Program.

What is Participatory Ergonomics?

Participatory Ergonomics (PE) is a process in which you actively involve workers in developing and implementing workplace changes which will improve productivity and reduce risks to health and safety (Burgess-Limerick, 2018).  PE is based on the concept that workers:

  • Possess expert knowledge of their tasks
  • Are in an ideal position to identify and assess risk related to their tasks and participate in the development and implementation of solutions
  • Are more likely to buy in to solutions they help develop and implement

A participatory ergonomics program typically consists of one or more cross-functional teams trained to systemically identify and evaluate ergonomic risks to implement workplace improvements (via tool, equipment, workstation layout, and work process changes).

How do you implement a Participatory Ergonomics Program?

There are several critical elements as you plan, execute, and sustain your Participatory Ergonomics Program, including the following:

  • Management Commitment and Alignment
  • Participatory Ergonomics Team(s)
  • Training at Multiple Levels
  • Engineering Support
  • Program Evaluation

Management Commitment and Alignment. The commitment of management (at all levels) to the program is the most important factor to ensure the success of your program (Brown, 2005; Burgess-Limerick, 2018; Dixon et al., 2009; Liker et al., 1991). Such commitment is essential to ensure that adequate resources (personnel, budget, systems) are available to support the program and implement workplace solutions in a timely fashion (Haines and Wilson, 1998).  Aligning the goals and metrics of the PE program with overall company goals and metrics with also help ensure the sustainment of your program.

Participatory Ergonomics Team(s). Engaging employee participation through Participatory Ergonomics Team(s) is another critical element and essentially the “lifeblood” of your PE program.  Teams typically consist of six (6) to ten (10) core members, made up of workers and supervisors from represented departments, EH&S, maintenance, facilities, and engineering.  Teams are trained on a systematic process to assess and improve the workplace.  Reporting back and working in cooperation with management on a routine basis is also key to sustaining such a program.

Training at Multiple Levels. Engaging employees by providing training at multiple levels (executives, dept. managers, EH&S, medical, supervisors, procurement, employees) is another crucial element of a PE program.  In order to be truly participatory, all levels of your organization must understand the basic elements of your program and know their roles, responsibilities, and resources.

Engineering Support. In addition to having engineers serve on PE teams, you may also want to consider providing engineers with ergonomics training and design guidelines they can use in their planning, purchasing, and implementation of new facilities, production lines, equipment, or tooling to proactively design out ergonomic issues in the workplace. Engineers like numbers and limits on “how much is too much” so empowering them with such knowledge and limits can help move your program to the next level!

Program Evaluation.  As with any program, you want to periodically evaluate the effectiveness and results of your PE program and communicate such results to leadership.  Tracking and reporting on the goals and metrics that were agreed upon during the management commitment and alignment phase will help you identify program successes and opportunities for improvement as you continuously mature the program and overall company culture.

Implementing a PE program can help resolve many of the inherent problems and lead to positive changes in a company’s metrics and culture.  See the accompanying article on Measuring the Benefits of a Participatory Ergonomics Program for more information.

ADDITIONAL TIPS FOR SUCCESS & SUSTAINMENT

  1. Involve the “right” people in the PE team(s) (cross-functional, varied depts., passionate)
  2. Recruit a PE champion to guide and monitor the PE program and metrics
  3. Start out by addressing “low-hanging fruit” issues (early successes help gain enthusiasm and momentum)
  4. Leverage existing systems (corrective actions, maintenance) to implement & track improvements
  5. Market your successes (case studies showing benefits – productivity ↑, quality ↑, risk ↓, cost savings/ROI)
  6. Track and report on your program metrics (leading and lagging indicators)

Additional information on the elements of a successful ergonomics program can also be found in last quarter’s ErgoHOWL newsletter.

References:

Brown, O. (1993). On the relationship between participatory ergonomics, performance and productivity in organizational systems. In: Marras, W., Karwowski, W., Smith, J., Pacholski, L. (Eds.), The Ergonomics of Manual Work. Taylor & Francis, London.

Brown, O. (2005). Participatory ergonomics. In: Stanton, N., Hedge, A., Brookhuis, K., Salas, E., Hendrick, H. (Eds.), Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics Methods. CRC Press, Boca Raton FL.

Burgess-Limerick, R. (2018). Participatory ergonomics: Evidence and implementation lessons. Applied Ergonomics, 68: 289-293.

Department of Labor and Industries [DLI] (2000). Cost-benefit analysis of the ergonomics standard. Olympia, WA: Goggins.

Dixon, S.M., Theberge, N. (2011). Contextual factors affecting task distribution in two participatory ergonomic interventions: a qualitative study. Ergonomics, 54: 1005–1016.

Goggins, R.W. et al. (2008). Estimating the effectiveness of ergonomics interventions through case studies: Implications for predictive cost-benefit analysis. Journal of Safety Research, 39: 339–344.

Haines, H.M., Wilson, J.R. (1998). Development of a Framework for Participatory Ergonomics. Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books, Sudbury, Suffolk.

Haims, M., Carayon, P. (1998). Theory and practice for the implementation of in-house’, continuous improvement participatory ergonomics programs. Applied Ergonomics, 29: 461–472.

Liker, J.K., Joseph, B.S., Ulin, S.S. (1991). Participatory ergonomics in two automotive plants. In: Noro, K., Imada, A.S. (Eds.), Participatory Ergonomics. Taylor & Francis, London, pp. 97–139.

Puget Sound Chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Cost Benefit Analysis. https://www.pshfes.org/cost-calculator.

Measuring the Benefits of a Participatory Ergonomics Program

A Participatory Ergonomics (PE) program is a process in which you actively involve workers in developing and implementing workplace changes which will improve productivity and reduce risks to health and safety (Burgess-Limerick, 2018).  Successfully implementing a PE has been shown to have a positive economic impact on a company’s bottom line. According to a Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (DLI) review of 250 case studies, benefits of ergonomics improvements utilizing the PE approach include:

  • 70% – 94% (average 84%) reduction in ergonomics related lost workdays (n=5)
  • 32% – 90% (average 60%) reduction in ergonomics related employee injury costs (n=5)
  • 8% -83% (average 42%) reduction in work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) (n=10)
  • 11% – 80% (average 41%) increase in productivity (n=5)
  • 68% reduction in worker’s compensation costs

Participative ergonomics is also reported to have additional benefits, such as improved communication flow within an organization, improved employee morale, more rapid technological and organizational change, and enhanced performance (Haines and Wilson, 1998; Brown, 1993; Haims and Carayon, 1998).

More recently, Tompa et al. (2013) provided additional evidence that PE interventions (over a two-year period) are highly effective and are responsible for the following health and performance outcomes, as well as economic impact:

  • First aid cases reduced by 35%
  • Modified duty cases reduced by 50%
  • Casual absenteeism reduced by 23%
  • Long-term illness absences reduced by 75%
  • Duration of long-term illness absences reduced by 93%
  • First-time quality production increased by 1%
  • Productivity efficiency increased by 5%
  • Economic benefit-to-cost ratio, based on costs and consequences, is 5.5 to 1

One of the most important aspects to consider when implementing a PE is developing reliable metrics to measure the success of the program. Key Performance Indicators (KPIS) are values that measure an organization’s success at meeting its objectives. Establishing metrics are essential to quantify a company’s progress towards these objectives. Metrics form the basis for continuous improvement, provide reliable data to inform leadership, create a commitment to inspire a rewards system, and provide transparency for the company. According to Peter Drucker, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

 

Leading metrics are used by companies that are striving to achieve a world-class ergonomics program. They measure progress towards completing activities that typically precede the desired result. These metrics help establish goals the PE team can work towards. Examples of leading metrics include the Ergo Program Gap Analysis score, the Ergonomics Cultural Maturity Model (ECMM) score, numbers and percentages of personnel trained (teams, employees, managers, etc.), and the number and/or percentages of ergonomic issues and risks identified, eliminated, and mitigated.

Lagging metrics are outcomes/results oriented and measure a company’s incidents in the form of past accident statistics. Examples of lagging metrics include injury rates of MSDs (normalized per 100 FTEs), number of MSDs/ergonomics-related incidents, lost and restricted time per MSD incident, workers compensation costs related to MSD incidents, and production/quality measures (time/labor savings, reduced scrap/wasted material, and reduced maintenance).

So, which set of metrics should a company be utilizing? Most safety professionals accept the value of charting leading, rather than just lagging, indicators in a PE program. Focusing on lagging indicators such as lowered workers’ compensation claims or costs could mean your wasting valuable time and resources. In the meanwhile, your early persistent injury issues remain unresolved. Alternately, setting then noting leading indicators reinforces the notion that you’re moving forward towards your ultimate goals. While its always important to know how your company has performed in the past, working towards future success is best measured utilizing leading metrics.

References

Brown, O. (1993). On the relationship between participatory ergonomics, performance and productivity in organizational systems. In: Marras, W., Karwowski, W., Smith, J., Pacholski, L. (Eds.), The Ergonomics of Manual Work. Taylor & Francis, London.

Burgess-Limerick, R. (2018). Participatory ergonomics: Evidence and implementation lessons. Applied Ergonomics, 68: 289-293.

Haines, H.M., Wilson, J.R. (1998). Development of a Framework for Participatory Ergonomics. Health and Safety Executive, HSE Books, Sudbury, Suffolk.

OHS Insider. (2016) https://ohsinsider.com/compliance-centres/making-business-case-safety-case-study-shows-benefits-participatory-ergonomics-continue-years

Tompa, E., Dolinschi, R., and Natale, J. (2013). Economic evaluation of a participatory ergonomics intervention in a textile plant. Applied Ergonomics 2013, May;44(3):480-7. (2014 Applied Ergonomics Award for the best paper)