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Business Ergonomic Evaluations: How They Work & Employer Benefits

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If you own a business, then you should learn all about business ergonomic evaluations, how they work, and how they can benefit you as a business owner. By seeking an ergonomic assessment, you can help ensure you are providing your employees an environment that encourages good health instead of contributing to workplace injury and the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Read on to learn more about ergonomic evaluations and the benefits they offer employers. 

How an Ergonomic Evaluation Is Performed

During an ergonomic evaluation, an expert with experience in the field will examine your workplace and watch your employees perform their jobs as usual to detect any risk factors that put your employees at risk for injury and/or the development of musculoskeletal disorders, such as repetitive stress injuries. 

While these risk factors are numerous, just a few include the following: 

  • Workstations with improper heights that require employees to hunch over or tilt their necks back while working
  • Tasks that require workers to bend their elbows or hold their wrists in non-ergonomic positions for extended periods of time
  • The use of high-vibration tools
  • The presence of one or more employees who have already developed MSDs caused by tasks they perform at the workplace

Once these risk factors are identified, your workplace ergonomic evaluation expert will help you form a concrete plan to eliminate these risks to reduce workplace injury occurrence. 

Ergonomic Assessment Employer Benefits

While ergonomic assessments benefit employees by finding ways to improve the comfort of their work environment so that they are less likely to develop painful musculoskeletal disorders and/or become injured at work, these evaluations also provide employers numerous benefits. 

A Potential Decrease in Employee Absenteeism 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that about 33 percent of all worker injury and illnesses cases during the year 2013 were MSD-related. Many employees must take time off due to the pain these injuries cause or to engage in a long injury recovery process. This means that taking steps to prevent the development of MSDs in your employees can potentially reduce workplace absenteeism greatly. 

Excessive employee absenteeism can lead to lost workplace productivity; poor quality of service or goods produced, and poor employee morale due to an increase in the workloads of employees who are not taking time off due to an injury. 

A Potential Reduction in Workers Compensation Premiums

If your workers' compensation premiums have become sky-high due to the high number of workplace injuries at your facility, then eliminating workplace hazards is a great first step to take when looking to reduce employee injuries. When fewer employees make workers' compensation claims, your insurance premium costs may become more manageable. 

Every business owner should seek a workplace ergonomic evaluation on a periodic basis. This assessment can help you identify small changes you can make to your facility to reduce the occurrence of workplace injuries and the development of musculoskeletal disorders among your employees. 


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