Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as carpal tunnel syndrome and back strains are costing U.S. and Canadian companies a fortune. They're responsible for one-third of all workplace injuries. And this may be a conservative estimate since these injuries often go unreported. To make matters worse, MSDs are among the most expensive and complicated to treat. They therefore exert upward pressure on workers' compensation premiums.

With so much at stake, you'd think that all companies would be willing, if not eager, to invest in ergonomically-sound work processes and equipment. But many of them are not. In fact, getting a CEO to support an ergonomics program can be a major challenge for safety directors. One of the surest ways to cut through this resistance is to link ergonomics to profitability. Here's a strategy to help you do that:

Why CEOs Resist Investing in Ergonomics

Regrettably, there are still large numbers of CEOs who don't "buy into" ergonomics, even though the costs and adverse effect of MSDs on a company's bottom line have been well documented. What accounts for this resistance? There are at least two explanations:

1. Lack of a Specific Ergonomics Regulation

Historically, one of the best ways to build a business case for a safety initiative is to point out that it's necessary to ensure compliance with a specific law or regulation. For example, if your hazardous materials training program needs revamping, you can always cite the training requirements in the OSHA Hazard Communication standard.

But playing the compliance card doesn't work as well with ergonomics. That's because there is no OSHA standard on ergonomics. OSHA came close to adopting one in 2001. But the Bush Administration and Congress took it off the table. True, you can argue that ergonomic measures are required under the "general duty" clause, Sec. 5(a)(1) of the OSHA statute (which requires employers to provide a workplace that's "free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm"). But a general duty isn't as compelling as a specific one.

2. Subjective Factors

Ergonomics also has something of an image problem. The average CEO can relate to risks of abrupt and violent injuries such as amputations, asphyxiation and falls. But MSDs don't feel quite as dangerous. Consequently, there's a tendency to dismiss ergonomics as "soft and squishy." "Too many CEOs associate ergonomics as a trendy thing involving oddly-shaped chairs and keyboards," according to one leading consultant.  Although they may be irrational, these subjective factors do exist. And they make ergonomics harder to sell.

Conclusion

Next week, in Part 2 of this series, we'll look at two strategies safety directors can use to overcome CEO resistance to ergonomic measures. We'll also cite case studies that you can use as evidence that eliminating ergonomic hazards from the workplace directly contributes to profitability.

ERGONOMICS ECONOMICS

By the Numbers

By Glenn Demby

One of the first workplace safety initiatives of the George W. Bush Administration was the scuttling of the proposed OSHA ergonomics standard. Critics claimed that the standard would have been too costly for businesses to implement. But they also acknowledged -  and still do acknowledge -  that work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent a major drag on the U.S. economy. How big a problem?

Here are some numbers from OSHA to consider. Keep in mind that OSHA published these figures in 1999 at a time it was advocating the adoption of the ergonomics standard. So they need to be taken with a grain of salt, particularly the estimates regarding the costs to business of implementation. However, the figures present a fair portrayal of the dimensions of the cost of MSDs.

33: The percentage of all injuries annually reported by U.S. businesses to the Bureau of Labor Statistics that are attributable to work-related MSDs.

$15-20 Billion: How much these MSDs cost businesses in workers' compensation claims.

1: MSDs' ranking among the leading sources of work injuries and illnesses.

28: The estimated percentage of workplaces that have implemented an ergonomics program.

50: The estimated percentage of workers who work in a workplace that has an ergonomics program.

3 Million: The estimated number of MSDs that the OSHA ergonomics standard would have prevented over 10 years.

$22,500: The estimated amount the average business saves in direct costs for each MSD it prevents.

$4.5 Billion: OSHA's estimate of how much it would have annually cost businesses to implement the proposed ergonomic standard.

$9 Billion: OSHA's estimate of how much businesses would have saved each year in the first 10 years if the proposed ergonomics standard had been implemented.

Source: OSHA, "The Need for an Ergonomics Standard", 1999.

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