Ergo Training Employers

A Five Step Ergonomics Process: Finding
and Fixing Sprain and Strain Hazards

Preventing Sprain and Strain Injuries
This presentation takes you through a 5 step ergonomics process that

can help you find and fix sprain and strain hazards in your workplace.
As you go through this presentation you will follow the Washington

Safety Shoe Company as they use this process to make their
workplace safer.
By the end of this presentation you will be able to:
 Describe the 5 steps of an ergonomics process.
 Decide how your employees can help you find and fix hazards.
 Use this process to find and fix hazards.

Sprain and Strain Injuries
Soft tissue injuries - “sprains and strains” - are the most common type
of work-related injury in Washington State.
It is important to remember that:
 There is a lot you can do to prevent them using this 5 step process.
 These prevention efforts are often simple and cost-effective.

Preventing sprains and strains: A five step process
• Involve Employees
1
• Find Hazards
2
You can find more helpful tools
• Assess Hazards and tips for preventing sprains
3
and strains on L&I’s website.
• Fix Hazards
4
• Check for Success

5
3. Assess 5. Check for
1. Involve Employees 2. Find Hazards
Hazards
4. Fix Hazards Success
In Step 1 you will train and involve your supervisors and employees.
Training will help them:
 Quickly find problem jobs.

 Offer more meaningful ideas on how to make their jobs safer.
 Feel they are part of the solution.
L&I Tip: We offer free on-line training for supervisors, employees and safety committees
Ergonomics @ Work: Washington Safety Shoe Company
The Washington Safety Shoe Company

sells safety toe shoes and boots.
Recently, there have been a few back

injuries in the unloading and unpacking
area.
The owner is concerned about employees

in this area and wants to make the work
safer using this ergonomics process.
To get started, the supervisor and employees in the unloading and

unpacking area completed L&I’s online course:
Using an ergonomics process to prevent

sprains and strains: Training for supervisors,
employees and safety committees
Next, the company moved to Step 2, Find Hazards.

Hazards
The quickest way to find hazards is to look for:
 Lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or other physically hard tasks.
 Work done in awkward postures, like bending or reaching.
 Hand intensive work, such as using tools, assembling parts, or

packing boxes.
Hazards
Another way to look for potential hazards is to ask supervisors and

employees about:
 Work processes with bottlenecks.
 Quality problems or tasks that need a lot of rework.
 Unnecessary steps.
 Jobs no one likes to do.

Hazards
Other ways to find hazards are:
 Look at your sprain and strain injuries.
 Do a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA).
 Review safety committee minutes.
 Include ergonomics when changing processes, equipment and

tools.
L&I Tip: We have resources to help you do a
Job Hazard Analysis
After being trained, the supervisor and employees walked

through the unloading and unpacking area and saw:
 Employees bending over to lift

35 lbs. cases off of pallets.
 Cases being carried 30 feet to

the workbench for unpacking.
When asked, employees said the work was hard to do and

tiring. Also, carrying the cases slowed the work down.
The supervisor and employees wanted

to know, could the lifting and carrying of
the cases cause injuries?
The next step was to assess the injury

risk using some basic assessment tools.
Hazards
After you find a job with a potential hazard, avoid "analysis paralysis."
Sometimes the risk of injury is obvious and there are simple solutions
that you can put in place quickly, without a lot of evaluation.
However, there are times a more careful analysis is needed to

understand the risk and the best approach to fixing it.
L&I Tip: We have resources to help you quickly find hazards with simple solutions
Hazards
Analysis tools can help you:
 Assess a job or task in more detail.
 Decide when a risk is an injury hazard.
 Prioritize your injury prevention efforts.
 Determine if a solution fixed a hazard.

Hazards
Basic tools
 L&I Caution Zone Checklist

 L&I Hazard Zone Checklist
L&I Tip: These basic evaluation tools can be
 Lifting Calculator App found on our website
 Push/Pull/Carry Calculator
 Push/Pull Guidelines
Hazards
Advanced tools
 L&I Industry-Specific Job Evaluation Checklists
 Quick Exposure Check
L&I Tip: These advanced evaluation tools and others can be found on our website
After looking at the tools on the L&I web site, the supervisor decided
to use the:
 Lifting Calculator App for the

unloading pallets task.
 Carry Calculator for the

carrying cases task.
Lifting Calculator App inputs:
When asked, employees said lifting from

the lowest row of cases is the hardest
Lifting Calculator App inputs:
Employees said:
 They lift 1 case every 4 to 5 minutes.
 It takes 1.5 to 2 hours to unload and

unpack cases.
Lifting Calculator App results:
Safe weights to lift are 17 lbs. and 20 lbs.

based on the amount of twisting
Lifting the heavier 35 lbs. cases could lead

to a back injury
Carry Calculator inputs:
The company used the Female

scenario to asses if this task can be
safely done by most employees
Carry Calculator inputs:
 Employees carry cases 30 feet

every 4 to 5 minutes.
 Cases are carried at waist

height.
Carry Calculator results:
Suggested max weight

is a little less than the
weight of the cases
1. Involve Employees 2. Find Hazards 4. Fix Hazards
Hazards Success
Next, work with your employees and safety committee to find

solutions:
 Brainstorm with employees on why the hazard exists and the best
way to fix it.
 Try to come up with at least a couple of solution options for each

hazard.
Hazards Success
There many resources to help you find effective solutions:
 Contact your industry association

 Talk to equipment and tool vendors
 Check the L&I Ergonomics Ideas Bank
 Get help from an L&I Consultant
L&I Tip: Our web site has resources to help you create solutions
Hazards Success
As you create a list of possible solutions for each hazard:
 Look for quick fixes to get momentum going.
 Focus on the most effective solutions.

 Expect results, but be patient.

Hazards Success
Making a plan
After you have decided on the fixes to put in place:
 Identify a person to be responsible for each solution.
 Assign completion dates and track progress.

After assessing the hazards, solutions were created and ranked
The supervisor and employees looked at the ideas they created and
decided to try 2 of the solutions:
1. Get a rotating pallet leveler to raise the

cases to waist height for lifting.
2. Rearrange the area so pallets can be

moved closer to the workbench,
eliminating the carrying of cases.
Hazards Success
Did it work? 1. Involve

Employees
After using a solution for a few weeks, look at the 2. Find

job again and talk with employees to see if the fix is Hazards
working as planned.
3. Assess
Hazards
When a solution does not reduce the risk of injury or
is not being used as intended, repeat Steps 4 and 5 4. Fix
Hazards
to find a better fix.
5. Check
for
Success
After a few weeks using the rotating pallet

leveler, the supervisor re-assessed the lifting
task and found:
 The task is safer:

• Lifting limit at waist height = 35 lbs.
• Case weight = 35 lbs.
 Employees said the work was easier, faster

and less tiring.
While looking at this task again, employees had two other ideas to
make the work safer and easier:
1. Remove the workbench and work off of the pallet leveler so the
cases do not have to be lifted at all.
2. Ask suppliers to use cases with cut out handles.

Ready for the next step?
The next step is to consider making an ergonomics process part of

your overall Accident Prevention Program.
A written ergonomic process makes it easier to continually find and fix

hazards before a sprain and strain injury happens.
L&I Tip: We have a template you can use to create your own ergonomics process
The owner was very pleased with the improvements and plans to:
 Have all employees trained in ergonomics.
 Assess more jobs.
 Add the ergonomics process to their

written Accident Prevention Program.
 Post success stories where

all employees can see them.
Ergonomics Process Resources
Process Workbooks
 Step 1
 Step 2
 Step 3
 Step 4
 Step 5
Training
 Using ergonomics to prevent sprains and strains: Training for supervisors, empl
oyees and safety committees
Template
 Ergonomics Process APP Template
Help from L&I at no cost to you
We offer free, confidential consultations to help you prevent sprains

and strains in your workplace.
To learn more:
 Email: Ergonomics@Lni.wa.gov
 Call: (360) 902-5450
 Click: Get Help with Ergonomics

Ergo Training Employers

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A Five Step Ergonomics Process: Finding

and Fixing Sprain and Strain Hazards

This presentation takes you through a 5 step ergonomics process that

As you go through this presentation you will follow the Washington

 Describe the 5 steps of an ergonomics process.

 Use this process to find and fix hazards.

It is important to remember that:

 These prevention efforts are often simple and cost-effective.

• Check for Success

Training will help them:

 Quickly find problem jobs.

The Washington Safety Shoe Company

Recently, there have been a few back

The owner is concerned about employees

To get started, the supervisor and employees in the unloading and

Using an ergonomics process to prevent

Next, the company moved to Step 2, Find Hazards.

The quickest way to find hazards is to look for:

 Lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or other physically hard tasks.

 Work done in awkward postures, like bending or reaching.

 Hand intensive work, such as using tools, assembling parts, or

Another way to look for potential hazards is to ask supervisors and

 Work processes with bottlenecks.

 Quality problems or tasks that need a lot of rework.

 Jobs no one likes to do.

Other ways to find hazards are:

 Look at your sprain and strain injuries.

 Do a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA).

 Review safety committee minutes.

 Include ergonomics when changing processes, equipment and

After being trained, the supervisor and employees walked

 Employees bending over to lift

 Cases being carried 30 feet to

When asked, employees said the work was hard to do and

The supervisor and employees wanted

The next step was to assess the injury

However, there are times a more careful analysis is needed to

Analysis tools can help you:

 Assess a job or task in more detail.

 Decide when a risk is an injury hazard.

 Prioritize your injury prevention efforts.

 Determine if a solution fixed a hazard.

 L&I Caution Zone Checklist

 L&I Industry-Specific Job Evaluation Checklists

 Quick Exposure Check

 Lifting Calculator App for the

 Carry Calculator for the

Lifting Calculator App inputs:

When asked, employees said lifting from

Lifting Calculator App inputs:

 They lift 1 case every 4 to 5 minutes.

 It takes 1.5 to 2 hours to unload and

Lifting Calculator App results:

Safe weights to lift are 17 lbs. and 20 lbs.

Lifting the heavier 35 lbs. cases could lead

Carry Calculator inputs:

The company used the Female

Carry Calculator inputs:

 Employees carry cases 30 feet

 Cases are carried at waist

Carry Calculator results:

Suggested max weight