Understanding the Ergonomics Maturity Curve

Leveraging Ergonomics Teams in your VPP System

Christy Lotz, CPE

Senior Consultant / Ergonomics Engineer

The 30-Inch View

®

About Humantech

VPPPA Chapter VII Conference

© 2010 Humantech, Inc.

Goals of Presentation

• Key ingredients of a successful ergonomics team

• Core components of an effective ergonomics process

• Pitfalls to avoid when rolling out team-based program

• Roll of the team in recognizing, evaluating, and controlling exposure to ergonomic risks



Understanding the Ergonomics Maturity Curve




EHS

Issue/complaint resolution

Incident investigation



Issue/Complaint Resolution



Issue/Complaint Resolution

Elbows Out

Butts up

Shoulder too high




Engineering

EHS

Ergonomics risk management

Lean/continuous improvement





Risk Mapping



Ergonomics Risk Management



Ergonomics Risk Management



Change the Workplace – Simple Controls

BEFORE AFTER

Extension for line break valve




Designers

EHS

Engineering

Product design

Manufacturing design

Ergonomics risk management

Lean/continuous improvement





Design Standards and Guidelines



Take out a piece of paper……

• Draw a pig…..



Why Ergonomic Design Standards

• Variability in manufacturing process design results in…

• Missed opportunity to get it right the first time

• Greater ergonomic risks

• Productivity inefficiencies

• Process stability issues

• Quality concerns

• Wasted effort later

• To help with your design standards…….



Handbook of Ergonomic Design Guidelines



Where Does Your Company Fall?



The Benchmarking Process

Purpose

• To better understand the current state and successful elements of managing occupational ergonomics in today’s workplace.

Process

• Identify participants (13, fortune 500 companies participated)

• Provide preparation materials, address confidentiality, & schedule meetings

• Conduct interview (1½ to 2 hours)

• Compile results and report



Results

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









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 





Results: Key Elements for Success

• Strong Leadership & Culture (9):

• Common Approach & Tools (9)

• Focus on Reduction of Risk (6)

•

Common Metrics

• Integrate with Other Initiatives

• Common Plan for Improvement

• Defined Roles and Responsibilities (4)

• Involvement at All Levels of the Organization (5)

• On-site Resources

•

Employee Awareness and Engagement

• Engineering Ownership and Involvement

• Change the Workplace (2)

• Measure Improvement/Risk Reduction (3)

• Review/Audit the Process (2)

• Replicate Effective Solutions

• Provide Recognition



VPP Safety System

• Management Leadership &

Employee Involvement

•

Management Leadership

• Visible Leadership

•

Employee Involvement

• Responsibility, Authority and

Accountability

• Establish Standards

•

Resources

• A Measurement System

•

Consequences

• Application at All Levels

• Review of Program Operations

•

The Audit Trail

• Root Cause Analysis

•

Impact of TQM Principles

• Safety & Health Training

• Worksite Analysis

•

Comprehensive Surveys

• Change Analysis

• Hazard Analysis

•

Safety & Health Inspections

• Catching Hazards that Escape

Controls

• Employee Reports of Hazards

•

Accident/Incident Investigations

• Trend Analysis

• Hazard Prevention and

Control

• Engineering Controls

• Safe Work Practices

• Administrative Controls

• Personal Protective Equipment

•

Systems to Track Hazard Correction

• Preventive Maintenance Systems

• Emergency Preparedness

•

Medical Programs



Top 10 Common Elements of Top Performers

1.

Develop Goals/Performance Metrics and Expectations

2.

Management Support – Leadership and Culture

3.

Process Lead/Support Infrastructure

4.

Cross-functional Team

5.

Common Approach and Tools

6.

Training/Awareness

7.

Budget/Resources

8.


9.

Communication

10.

Sustainability/Integration



1. Develop Goals – Short- and Long-term

• Understand Current Ergonomic and EHS Policy

• Evaluate the current status of ergonomics in your shop/organization.

• Establish short- and long-term goals and a strategy to improve ergonomic conditions and performance.



1. Develop Goals – Short- and Long-term

•

Lagging metrics

• Injury rates

•

Workers compensation costs

• Activity metrics

•

% of jobs assessed

• % of countermeasures implemented

• % of people trained

• Leading metrics

• % of jobs at low to moderate risk

• % of force exertions below threshold



2. Management Support

• Establish targets and metrics and tie it to performance appraisal system

• Define roles and responsibilities at all levels

• Align ergonomics and VPP with existing, non-safety initiatives (5S, 6 σ, Lean etc.)

• Assign leadership and ensure accountability

(ergonomics is not optional)

• Ensure support from all levels (VPs, Managers,

Supervisors, Group Leads, Team Leads etc.)

• Monitor progress



2. Management Support

• Track progress to goal and show evidence of moving forward

Measure

% Of Jobs at Low Risk

Q1

YTD

Q2

YTD

23 48

Q3

YTD

79

Q4

YTD

Annual

Target

100

% Of Jobs Assessed

15

% Of Employees

Completing Appropriate

Level(s) of Training

30

34

51

66

89

100

100



3. Process Lead/Support Infrastructure

•

•

• Safety Manager

Engineering

Operations

The foundation for success



4. Cross Functional Team

Union

Rep

HR




• Selecting Team Members

• Operators/hourly employees

• Management

• Line supervision

• Health and Safety

• Human Resources

• Engineering

• Maintenance

• Union Stewards/Representatives




• Motivated - to make positive changes to the work environment

• Initiative – accomplishes tasks quickly

• Teamwork – collaborates and works well with others

• Communication – presents ideas and information clearly

• Familiarity – knowledgeable about site operations and organization

• Influence – able to obtain assistance to make changes to workplace

• Authority – has been provided authority to direct and make workplace changes

• Availability – is available to participate on the team

• Enthusiasm – approaches all work activities positively and with an open mind to change



5. Common Approach and Tools

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

• Identify and Prioritize Tasks

• Screening Methods

• Loss History & Injury Trends (OSHA 300 log)

• Employee Input

• Observation

Back Injuries

Cumulative Trauma

Lacerations

Slips/Falls

Burns

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr




• How’s Your Process? How’s Your Health?

• Employee involvement and communication

• Employees performing self-audits







• Develop Design Standards/Guidelines

• When someone asks you “where should we place controls”? …..you have an answer




Fixed It



6. Training/Awareness

• Make investment in training more than a small group of people in the process

Skills

Training

Awareness

Training



7. Budget/Resources

• Have to actually get fixes done some how

• A budget should be available whether built into department budget or through CI or Engineering

• It does not have to be costly to be effective




BEFORE AFTER

Raise pallets in solvent shed




28"




BEFORE AFTER

28"

Fabricate a step to facilitate access to basket on lift




When implementing solutions, don’t forget the hierarchy of controls:

• Eliminate the Hazard

• e.g. Ensure that the installation force is below the guideline value

• Engineering Controls

• e.g. Design in a lifting point and provide a lift assist device to move the part

• Administrative Controls

• e.g. Reduce exposure to a hazard through job rotation

• Work Practices

• e.g. Ergo or safety key points, posture training

• Personal Protective Equipment

• e.g. Provide padded gloves to reduce impact stress.




• Demonstrate ROI in different ways

$1

Injury/Cost

$5

Quality/Delivery

RELIABILITY

Productivity/

Value Added



7. Budget/Resources – Health and Safety

Incident COST ICEBERG

$1

$

LEDGER COSTS

$

5

TO

$ 50

1

TO

$ 3

MISCELLANEOUS

COSTS



2003 SALCON, Inc. All Rights Reserved

INJURY & ILLNESS COSTS

• Medical

• Compensation Costs (Insured Costs)

BUILDING DAMAGE

• Tool and equipment damage

• Product and material damage

• Production delays and interruptions

• Legal expenses

• Expenditure of emergency supplies

• Interim equipment rentals

INVESTIGATION TIME

• Wages paid for time lost

• Cost of hiring and/or training replacements

• Overtime

• Extra supervisory time

• Clerical time

• Loss of business and goodwill



7. Budget/Resources - Quality

Specific measures that can be used to demonstrate how ergonomics affects quality include the following:

• Warranty claims

• Defects per part (DPP)

• Direct run (parts coming off line with no repairs or rework)

• Customer approval ratings (JD Power)

• Operator feedback



7. Budget/Resources – Productivity

• Rear Spoiler Install

• Change torsion bars out, drill holes, install new spoiler and torsion bars at

TLS

•

Overall ergonomic risk exposure reduced by 65%

• $262,000 annual impact

• 2764% ROI (3 years)


8. Employee Involvement

Ask The Operator

Expert

"Being involved in improving the work environment is the biggest source of a better quality of life for workers."

- Toyota Production System (Monden, 1998)



8. Employee Involvement

BEFORE AFTER

Tacked two fixtures together and placed them on a gear to allow them to rotate





9. Communication

• Visualization of progress. Set up visual controls to show:

• Plan to actual

• Successes

• Challenges

• HSE Newsletter

• Video Bulletin Boards

• Site Safety Meetings

• Replication Collaboration Sites

• Communicate progress on fixes even if they are not being addressed



9. Communication

Operator Report

Supervisor

Supervisor should review and rewrite requisition if problem is not solved

Maintenance

Requisition

Complete Fix OR

Incomplete Fix

Maintenance

Close-out

Supervisor and

Operator Review

Final Close-out

Supervisor should report back to operator when implementation timeline



10. Sustainability

• ISO 14001,OHSAS

1800, ANSI Z10

Mgmt. Systems

• Create an audit process to identify strengths and develop plan to strengthen weak points of the process



Common Elements of Top Performers

1.

Develop Goals/Performance Metrics and Expectations

2.

Management Support – Leadership and Culture

3.

Process Lead/Support Infrastructure

4.

Cross-functional Team

5.

Common Approach and Tools

6.

Training/Awareness

7.

Budget/Resources

8.


9.

Communication

10.

Sustainability/Integration



Christy Lotz

734.476.3696

clotz@humantech.com

The 30-Inch View ®

And the Winner is……………….



Understanding the Ergonomics Maturity Curve

Ask The Operator

Expert

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Ask The Operator

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