Page 78 - Occupational Health & Safety, September 2019

ERGONOMICS
Implementing an Enterprise-Wide Ergonomics Process
Practical steps to take to improve consistency across locations and reduce workload for your ergonomics site leaders.
BY RICK BARKER AND SRACHEL ZOKY
uccessfully launching and maintaining an ergonomics process across multiple coun- tries can be challenging, especially when your sites aren’t large enough to warrant a
person dedicated to ergonomics. In all but the largest manufacturing sites, ergonomics is one of many hats that a person must wear. This requires the enterprise ergonomics process owner to create systems that re- duce the burden on site leaders. There are some prac- tical steps you can take to improve consistency across locations and reduce the workload for your ergonom- ics site leaders.
Some of the key challenges when it comes to large- scale ergonomics processes include:
■ choosing reportable metrics that are applicable to different plant sizes and production constraints
■ embedding the ergonomics process into the daily operations of distant facilities
■ establishing consistent processes for including ergonomics in new product and equipment design.
■ sharing solution ideas and problem-solving ef- forts across sites
Tracking Success Across Diverse Sites
Comparing injury data from multiple locations in different countries is challenging because the criteria for classifying an injury as work-related can vary con- siderably among them. You can partially address this challenge by establishing specific injury definitions for all locations to use; however, this may result in duplication of effort and underreporting. Sometimes, even the most accurate injury data is still a lagging metric. Tracking risk scores and risk reduction, rather than injury reduction, allows for consistent measures that aren’t affected by local regulations. By using the same musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk assess- ment methodology across all locations and tracking the risk reduction at each site, you can have a mean- ingful, consistent measure of success.
The goals for individual sites should allow for variation based on the baseline risk, or starting point, for each location. Some product types have more in- herent MSD risk than others, and some processes that require manually intensive operations are strategically sourced to regions with lower labor costs. However, manually intensive tasks will generally have higher MSD risk levels, so a single, enterprise-level goal re- garding MSD risk reduction may not be appropriate for all sites. For long-term success, work directly with
each site to establish a challenging, yet reasonable, goal for that site. Using the same measure for each location but updating the goal according to the size, resources, and baseline situation of each site creates a more attainable goal structure. Ensuring the goals for each location are achievable maximizes the motiva- tion to work toward those goals.
Fully embedding ergonomics into daily operations is the “holy grail” for many ergonomics practitioners.
Embedding the Ergonomics
Process into Daily Operations
Fully embedding ergonomics into daily operations is the “holy grail” for many ergonomics practitioners. Geographic distances and language barriers often add to the challenge, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Several tactics can help you embed the process in di- verse locations:
Have a clear plan. A clear plan conveys the roles, responsibilities, and expectations for everyone in the organization. An enterprise-level plan must often strike a balance between providing enough direc- tion to drive consistent action and allowing sufficient flexibility to enable individual sites to accomplish the overall goals within the constraints of local regula- tions and facility size.
Choose strong regional or local champions. Se- lecting the right person to own ergonomics at both the regional and site levels is critical. Most regional and site champions are adding ergonomics to the large set of responsibilities they already have, so er- gonomics won’t be their primary job. It is a common mistake to think that EHS needs to lead in every re- gion. Effective ergonomics champions are also com- monly found in engineering, facilities, maintenance, operations, and other job functions. The most impor- tant skills for a regional champion to have are being effective at implementing changes and possessing the language skills to communicate with other regional champions. The specific knowledge and skills relating to ergonomics can be easily learned.
Provide consistent messaging across languages.
This is one of the strengths of e-learning. The same message can be conveyed to people in a variety of lan- guages. E-learning also provides a resource that can be referenced and reviewed at any time, whenever a situation requires clarification.
74 Occupational Health & Safety | SEPTEMBER 2019
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