Causes of back injuries and methods of its preventing - Essay Example

PROJECT MANAGEMENT REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ASSESMENT ONE. Table of Contents PROJECT MANAGEMENT REFLECTIVE JOURNAL ASSESMENT ONE. 1 Table of Contents 1 Abstract. 2 Project objectives and how to achieve them. 3 1.0 Week one; 4 1.1 Responsibility: 4 2.0 Week two 6 Reasons why back injuries are happening. 6 3.0 Week three; 7 Investigation of safe work practices and procedures. 7 3.1 Strategies for back injury preventions. 7 3.2 Organizational Strategies 7 3.3 Members of staff action plan. 8 4.0 week four 8 5.0 week five 11 Specialized training for the members of staff. 11 Journal week six; 12 6.0 Training Certification 12 7.0 Reference list 15 Abstract. The significance of the impact of safe lifting has turned out to be not generally acknowledged in the globe. Many reasons have been explained in relation to work area safety. In this paper, we discuss a variable that has not been given the attention it deserves in the argument about safe lifting and health in places of work. The case of escalating back injuries has for the most part been overlooked in contingency plans by business organization. Many organizations with low levels of employee safety and health ultimately find themselves in a situation we call a “safety trap.” This state of affairs concerns both the employees and the employers. Project objectives and how to achieve them. 1). Identifying causes of back injuries- The project aims to fully exhaust all avenues of identifying causes of back injuries in work places and how both employers and employees can tackle this issue. This would greatly reduce the issue of employees getting incapacitated in the long run thus giving them job confidence as they go about their daily routine at their places of work. 2). Identifying methods of preventing back injuries- The project aims to identify ways in which both the employers and employees can reduce cases of back injuries and impart safe lifting and health care programs amongst the interested parties. These methods can go a long way in creating a very peaceful and relatively happy working environment for both the employer and employees. 3). Identifying ways to reduce amounts of insurance premiums- High levels of back injuries and poor lifting methods bring about higher rates of insurance premiums. If the premium rates are high, it is both the employers and employees who suffer in the long term. The employer suffers in that they are forced to incur extra costs by paying the high rates for insurance premiums while the employees suffer in that they sometimes suffer negative life changing injuries which end up decapitating them for the rest of their lives. At present, the total cost of premiums being paid out by the business sums up to a massive $78,000. At the implementation of the project, we hope to reduce this by a whopping 70% and if possible wipe out the issue of high premiums being paid out. 4). Identifying methods of sensitizing both the employers and employees on the benefits of safe lifting and back injury preventions methods. These methods can go a long way in educating the stakeholders on ways of safe lifting and back injury preventions. This could be done through use of posters in work places and generally training the employees on safe lifting and issuing a directive on safe lifting. Some of these methods include printing safe lifting charts and posters at the work place and initiating a work curriculum that all employees and every potential employee must undertake in order to train them in safe lifting methods and impact health knowledge to them. 1.0 Week one; A sharp increase has been detected in back strain injuries and days lost due to these injuries which has also seen an increase in insurance premium costs. JIM’S CLEANING will make sure that probable back injury risk factors in its amenities are evaluated and restricted. This regular practice order is planned to tackle broadly the issues of; Evaluating back injury concerns, evaluating engineering measures, job practices, organizational measures, and creating suitable measures. 1.1 Responsibility: The safety manager of JIM’S CLEANING is in charge of this program and has total powers to make required decisions to guarantee the success of the program. The safety manager will guide the safety planner to build up written comprehensive directions covering each of the essential fundamentals of this program, and will be the only individual allowed to adjust these directives. The safety manager is allowed to cut short any operations of the business when there is risk of severe personal injury. (Amdam, R. P. (2010). Insights into the Sustainable Growth of Business. Bradford: Emerald Group Pub.) Even though back injuries account for no job-related deaths, they account for a considerable quantity of human agony, loss of output, and financial trouble on reimbursement systems. Back-related disorder is one of the primary causes of disability for people in their operational days Because of the unhurried and progressive beginning of back injuries, the situation is time and again overlooked until the symptoms turn out to be severe, often resulting into a more serious and long term injury. Severe back problems can be as a result of inappropriate lifting methods or lifting masses that are too heavy for the back to hold up. While serious injuries may be caused by a single definite happening, the actual cause is often a collective interaction of the experiential distress together with years of deteriorating of the spinal cord system by recurring distress. Low back pain problems are the most common work-related predicament reported by JIM’S CLEANING. 70 percent of injuries to these employees result in sprains; 60 percent of these employees were either lifting or transferring items when they got injured. At present 78 percent of the work force account for their back pains during their operational days. (Kari-Pekka Martimo, Jos Verbeek, Jaro Karppinen, Andrea D Furlan, Esa-Pekka Takala, P Paul F M Kuijer, Merja Jauhiainen, ,Eira Viikari-Juntura.(2008). Effect of training and lifting equipment for preventing back pain in lifting and handling: systematic review. BMJ, Vol 23,336, 429-431 ) This costs the company lots of money in medical expenditure and compensated remuneration yearly even though most employers and staff tend to deem that the majority of back pain issues are due to their jobs hence overlooking their way of life, aging, individual health, off-work behavior amongst other factors. 2.0 Week two Reasons why back injuries are happening. Latest research by JIM’S CLEANING shows that the majority of the severe back pains may be as a result of collective factors from a succession of traumatic lifting responsibilities that cause mini-traumas. These injuries cause restraint of joints, tendons, and muscle mobility. The occasion of severe pain from herniated vertebral discs from extreme weight occurs uncommonly. (Daltroy, L.H., Iversen, M.D., Larson, M.G., Lew, R., Wright, E., Ryan, J., Zwerling, C., Fossel, A.H., Liang, M.H. (1997). A controlled trial of an educational program to prevent low back injuries. The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 337, Number 5, 322-328.) Factors linked to back pains- Back pains arise from going beyond the potential of the muscles, tendons, discs, or the collective effect of numerous contributors. Some of these factors are listed below: Accessing the load while lifting. Poor posture. Traumatic living and poor working conditions and activities. Poor body mechanics-how one lifts, pushes, pulls, or carries items. Poor physical situation and poor plan of job or job location. Monotonous lifting of uncomfortable objects, equipment. Maintaining crooked postures. Exhaustion and heavy lifting Signs and symptoms consist of pain when attempting to attain regular posture, reduced mobility, and pain when standing or getting up from a seated spot. 3.0 Week three; Investigation of safe work practices and procedures. 3.1 Strategies for back injury preventions. Safety and health professionals have discovered that there are many ways of plummeting back injuries, and that no particular deterrence method is the answer. These strategies are categorized into two key plans of action-organizational and individual. Organizational strategies comprise of precise policies and safe lifting measures, and good quality back injury management. (Verbeek JH, Martimo KP, Karppinen J, Kuijer PPFM, Viikari-Juntura E, Takala EPManual (2011). Material handling advice and assistive devices for preventing and treating back pain in workers (Review). Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 6.) The other strategy is the individual accountability of each member of staff to practice safe lifting measures and to advance their physical capability to endure the stresses of repetitive lifts. I have discussed these two strategies in detail below; 3.2 Organizational Strategies Necessitate employees to put on transfer or gait belts while at work. These belts are to be worn by all employees when support is indicated. Set up guidelines of assisted lifts. Post charts at their areas of work indicating where assisted lifts of more than one person is needed. Make available sufficient mechanical transport equipment such as Hoyer lifts. Train workers and supervisors so they are comfortable with operating this equipment. Make available back support vests to people with a history of back pain issues. Preferably all employees concerned with heavy lifting jobs should put on back support vests. Adopt a back school- It should teach the basics of biomechanics of the spinal column, safe lifting and back self care. All new employees should go to a back school, if possible before the employee is assigned a task. Have a back care and wellness plan. Identify objectives and goals and comprise workers participation in the program's intend. Examine all injuries, accidents, and complaints. Involve staff in the investigation course. Pay attention to member of staff concerns. Give response to all safety and health recommendations. Rotation of staff and giving short breaks in between may prove to be very adequate. Work preparation on safe lifting will be valuable only if adequate and suitable mechanical lifting apparatus are available. 3.3 Members of staff action plan. Engage staff to set up personal back injury deterrence goals that include physical training, team work and skill improvement. Help out in identifying latest or untimely cases of back injury concerns in the work force. This may be helpful in lesser amenities where information gathered may be restricted or in areas where exposing disincentive limits the number of reported injuries. The main explanation for this is to gather information on the number of employees that might be experiencing some form of back injuries. (Gorman, G. E. (2000). Collection management. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.) This is also a fine technique of identifying departments where there is a likelihood of back injury problems. 4.0 week four Printing and laminating posters on safe lifting and placing them in the workplace and general tips on safe lifting. Training on lifting methods continues to be used as a principal means to manage physical job risks in the place of work. Nonetheless, proof shows that there is no ‘safe’ way to lift. (Information Resources Management Association. (2012). Virtual learning environments: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications. Hershey, Pa: Information Science Reference) The major reason training lifting methods is not efficient is because the danger factors causing the predicaments are not altered. Even if staffs endeavor to apply lifting methods, they may still be open to serious injury possibilities. It is for this reason that JIM’S CLEANING has decided to ensure that charts and posters elaborating good and safe lifting practices are available. These charts tend to remind the staff of their own well being and that of their colleagues. These charts too will comprise common ethics on ergonomics, detection of hazards and injury and measures for reporting dangerous situations. In addition, job precise preparation should be set on safe work practices. (Landgraf, S. (2005). Student reflection journal for student success. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Eduction.) These charts also include some frequently asked questions that may act as general reminders to the staff just in case any of them may want to overlook the safety measures put in place. Some of these questions may be; 1). Have you checked the load before trying to lift it up? Asses every object before trying to lift it. This gives you a clue on how heavy it is. Keep in mind that a small size will always not mean a light load. 2).Is the load packed properly? Make sure the load is balanced and won't move around. Movable pieces when inside a box may cause accidents if the box is unbalanced. 3) Is it easy to grasp the cargo? Be certain to have a firm hold on the object before you attempt to lift it up. Handles that may be on the object may help you lift it undamaged. 4).Is it uncomplicated to access the load? You can be hurt if you wrongly bend your back when lifting a cargo over your head. To evade hurting your back, employ the use of a ladder when lifting a load over your head. 5).What is the appropriate manner to pick up an object? Use calculated and level movements. Hasty movements could damage the muscles in your back. Maintain the body facing the item while you lift it. Twisting the back while lifting can be dangerous. Maintain the cargo close to the body. Reaching out to pick up an item may hurt the back. Lifting a load with your legs ought to be done only when you can stand astride to the load. In order to lift with the legs, bend the knees, not the back. Remember to keep the back straight. Try to always carry the weight in the space between the shoulders and the waist as this tends to exert minimum strain on the back muscles. 5.0 week five Specialized training for the members of staff. Administrators will decide whether training necessary for definite jobs will be held in a classroom like manner or on-the-job. The level of training given shall be decided by the difficulty of the job and the related dangers. Initial training, preceding job obligations, JIMS CLEANING shall offer training to make sure that the dangers related with predestinated work expertise are understood by staff and that the information and expertise necessary for the secure appliance and practice of work place measures and apparatus, are made available to staff. Training shall comprise the following: 1. Each member of staff shall get training in acknowledgment of back injury hazards concerned with definite jobs, and the measures and resources essential for safe work. 2. Training lessons content. All fresh and present members of staff, who are assigned to places where there is practical possibility of back injury, will always be educated throughout ongoing training programs. Primary and review training will, cover the following: Back hazards linked to the work. Lifting methods. Probable health effects of back injury. Back injury safety measures. Correct use of defensive clothing and apparatus. Use of engineering safety measures. Responsibility. Members of staff are accountable for subsequent work practices and manage measures to help care for their health and afford for their safety and that of fellow workers, as well as directions to straight away report to their supervisors of any major back injury.( Ho, B. T., Netto-Shek, J.-A., & Chang, A. S. C. (2004). Managing project work in schools: Issues and innovative practices. Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall.) Review training- planned review training will be held on a regular basis depending on reported violations of this guiding principle or any changes made to it. Retraining shall be offered to all approved and affected workers every time there is an adjustment to their job assignments. Further retraining will be conducted whenever a sporadic assessment reveals, that there is divergence in the workers acquaintance of known dangers, or use of apparatus or measures. The retraining shall restore workers expertise and bring in new apparatus, new lifting measures or revised manage methods and actions, as required. Journal week six; 6.0 Training Certification JIM’S CLEANING will certify that members of staff are adequately trained and kept up to date. The certification shall include a summary of the training conducted, each workers name, and the dates they underwent training. As acknowledged in our health and safety guiding principle, each level of JIM’S CLEANING administration will be held accountable for carrying out the safety rules. Efficient execution of this plan requires shore up from all levels of administration within the business. This written plan will be communicated to all employees affected by it. It includes the total workplace, regardless of the number of workers or the number of shifts. It is intended to set up clear goals and objectives. Businesses should consider a practical approach to administering work, health and safety measures. (Raelin, J. A. (2000). Work-based learning: The new frontier of management development. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.) Businesses that operate like this are likely to have a strong safety background and good risk management plans for all dangerous areas, including physical duty risks. Involve employees in the risk management development. The complete manual duty risk management practice is based on the thought that the employee is the specialist in carrying out their job tasks, and provides a structure for assisting employees and organization to recognize and manage physical duty risks. (University of Technology, Sydney & Loyola University of Chicago. (2008). Gateways: International journal of community research & engagement. Broadway, NSW: University of Technology, Sydney.) The benefits of a collective approach include: 1).An affirmative impact on plummeting back injuries and employees reimbursement claims. 2).A decrease in lost days from the job or sickness non-appearance. 3). Increased profits on investment. 4). Better employee- management of the solution. With this kind of program in place, JIM’S CLEANING is anticipating a situation where injuries to the staff will be greatly reduced by a whopping 70% hence lowering the insurance premiums for the staff thus saving the business a great amount of money. The business is looking to save at minimum $50,000. These kinds of programs will greatly improve the staff morale since they will also have their interests catered for thus creating a good working relationship between the employee and the employer. This kind of situations benefits all stakeholders involved including the business. Budget 2013 Budget 2014 Budget deviation Percent change (%) Scrubbing machine $ 52,000 $ 58,000 6,000 11.538 Ladder 20,000 22,000 2,000 10 Instructional administration 150,000 182,000 32,000 21.33 Personal equipments for handling hazardous substances 40,000 44,000 4,000 10 Printing posters and charts 10,000 16,000 6,000 60 Staff training 27,000 32,000 5,000 18.518 Computer activities 25,000 34,000 9,000 36 Employees benefit 300,000 378,000 78,000 26 Transportation 200,000 250,000 50,000 25 With this budget, the company has managed to operate within its original budget and keep within the limits. 7.0 Reference list Amdam, R. P. (2010). Insights into the Sustainable Growth of Business. Bradford: Emerald Group Pub. Daltroy, L.H., Iversen, M.D., Larson, M.G., Lew, R., Wright, E., Ryan, J., Zwerling, C., Fossel, A.H., Liang, M.H. (1997). A controlled trial of an educational program to prevent low back injuries. The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 337, Number 5, 322-328. Gorman, G. E. (2000). Collection management. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Ho, B. T., Netto-Shek, J.-A., & Chang, A. S. C. (2004). Managing project work in schools: Issues and innovative practices. Singapore: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Kari-Pekka Martimo, Jos Verbeek, Jaro Karppinen, ,Andrea D Furlan, Esa-Pekka Takala, , P Paul F M Kuijer, Merja Jauhiainen, ,Eira Viikari-Juntura.(2008). Effect of training and lifting equipment for preventing back pain in lifting and handling: systematic review. BMJ, Vol 23,336, 429-431 Landgraf, S. (2005). Student reflection journal for student success. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Eduction. Raelin, J. A. (2000). Work-based learning: The new frontier of management development. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. University of Technology, Sydney & Loyola University of Chicago. (2008). Gateways: International journal of community research & engagement. Broadway, NSW: University of Technology, Sydney. Verbeek JH, Martimo KP, Karppinen J, Kuijer PPFM, Viikari-Juntura E, Takala EPManual (2011). Material handling advice and assistive devices for preventing and treating back pain in workers (Review). Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 6. Read More