There is no magic bullet or super-magical pill you can swallow to prevent the MSDs in your workplace. There is no easy solution, in other words. Only the hard work of implementing a comprehensive MSD prevention process that reduces or eliminates all causative risk factors.

My guess is that, deep down, you already knew that. The biggest successes in your personal life or at work have come to you as the result of the biggest amount of effort over an extended period of time. This isn’t always what we want to hear, but it’s the hard truth.

So no more searching for a magic bullet because there is no singular cause of MSDs. The way to prevent MSDs is to implement a systematic process to reduce and eliminate all causative risk factors over a long period of time.

The Key to MSD Prevention

The key to MSD prevention is so simple it might make you laugh (or get angry with me for not being more insightful). Ready?

Prevention is proactive!  

If that sounds so oversimplified to you to the point of seeming ridiculously obvious, that’s good. It means you already get it and you’re on the right track.

You already know that if MSDs are the result of a reactive approach to ergonomics and healthcare, then prevention is going to require a proactive approach to ergonomics and healthcare. If that’s what you were thinking, you were right. The way to reduce MSD risk factors is to get proactive and systematically put controls in place using a proactive ergonomics and proactive healthcare process.

Proactive Ergonomics

A proactive ergonomics process identifies ergonomic risk factors and then reduces them through engineering and administrative controls before an injury occurs.

Conducting an ergonomic risk assessment in response to an injury isn’t a bad thing to do. In fact, it’s what you should do.

But that’s a reactive approach, and if you keep doing what you’ve been doing, then you’re going to keep getting what you’ve been getting — injuries. To wage a war on the MSDs at your facility, you’ll need to get out in front of the problem by being proactive.

Remember that above all else, a world class ergonomics program is proactive and viewed as a strategic continuous improvement process that makes a positive impact on the entire business.

In other words, ergonomics shouldn’t be an afterthought. If your ergonomics program is in reactive mode, it will only have a marginal impact on your facility at best.

Here is the difference.

Reactive ergonomics:

• Waits for an injury to occur before being implemented
• Isn’t tied to strategic initiatives and organizational goals
• Gets little to no funding or leadership support
• Gets marginal results

Proactive ergonomics:

• Is implemented before an injury occurs
• Is viewed as a continuous improvement process (not a one-time program or event)
• Is tied to strategic initiatives and organizational goals
• Gets the funding and leadership support it needs to succeed
• Develops talent and trains up a workforce with an above average ergonomics IQ
• Gets transformational results

If your ergonomics program is reactive in nature, you will be doomed to sub-par results. On the flip side, if your ergonomics program is proactive in nature, then you can continuously improve it all the way to world class status.

Remember: ergonomics is a process, not a program. When you get proactive, your ergonomics process will gain value over time and become a key driver for your organization’s success.

Proactive Healthcare

A proactive healthcare process doesn’t wait for a workplace athlete to develop an MSD before that workplace athlete gets the training, information and coaching they need to remain healthy.

Here is the typical example of how healthcare is delivered to workplace athletes.

The workplace athlete appears to be healthy. Time goes on. The workplace athlete notices that the wear and tear is starting to worsen. More time goes on. The workplace athlete really begins to notice higher levels of fatigue and discomfort on a regular basis. More time passes. The workplace athlete has lost physical function and suffers an MSD. They go to a doctor to get surgery, a prescription and whatever else they need to make a recovery. Hopefully they return to peak health, but it’s unlikely.

This model of healthcare is reactive in philosophy and in practice.  If your company’s healthcare process is in reactive mode, you’re leaving a huge opportunity on the table. Remember that MSDs develop over long periods of time due to microscopic wear and tear to the soft tissues every day. The earlier you provide healthcare, the better the outcome for the workplace athlete and for the company. This is proactive, or preventive, healthcare where the goal is to prevent injuries and avoid costly reactive healthcare.

Here is the difference between reactive and proactive healthcare.

Reactive healthcare:

• Waits for an injury to occur before being implemented
• Delivers the worst health outcome for the person who was injured
• Is the most costly form of healthcare for the company

Proactive healthcare:

• Is implemented before an injury occurs
• Provides workplace athletes with injury prevention tools and techniques through group education workshops and one-on-one training
• Delivers the best health outcome for the workplace athlete
• Is the least costly form of healthcare for the company, providing a strong return on investment

What does a proactive healthcare program look like?

There are different ways to approach this, but we’ve had great success with a “Workplace Athlete” approach. Just like professional sports teams provide their athletes with a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC), your organization can benefit from embedding an athletic trainer directly into the workplace to provide preventive healthcare for your “workplace athletes”.

The Benefits of Synergy

A synergy exists between proactive ergonomics and proactive healthcare that produces better results together than either element would on its own.

We’ve witnessed the remarkable synergy of proactive ergonomics and proactive healthcare for over 25 years. It’s where the name “Ergonomics Plus” comes from, so we even named our company because of it.

By engaging in both of these proactive, prevention-oriented practices you end up shaping a powerful culture of prevention. This is the real goal we set out to achieve for clients. It’s rewarding to see this process gain momentum. It’s about excellence in health and safety, not merely compliance, and we believe that proactive ergonomics and proactive healthcare combine to help you achieve it.

How to Get Exponential MSD Prevention Results

If you implement the MSD prevention process we outline in this course, it will gain value over time and you will begin to see an exponential return on your investment.

Here’s the catch: you have to get started and you have to be committed to this process over the long haul. If you don’t take action now, you’ll only be putting off the results. Sometimes the most expensive investment is not making one at all.

Reducing MSD risk and shaping a culture of prevention is a long-term commitment. If you start early and stick with it, you’ll reap the benefits and a strong return on your investment.

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Lesson 3 Key Takeaways

1. There is no magic bullet or super-magical pill you can swallow to prevent the MSDs in your workplace. It takes a comprehensive approach because MSDs occur at the complex intersection of two systems: the work environment and the human body.
2. A proactive ergonomics process identifies ergonomic risk factors and then reduces them through engineering and administrative controls before an injury occurs.
3. A proactive healthcare process reduces individual risk factors by implementing a “workplace athlete” model of healthcare.
4. A synergy exists between proactive ergonomics and proactive healthcare that produces better results together than either element would on its own.
5. A comprehensive MSD prevention process gains value over time and produces exponential results.