Changing the task beat treating the injury
An electrical utility with a small, highly skilled crew was carrying repeated soft tissue injuries. Losing one lineworker removes a rare skill set, not just a headcount.
30%
fewer soft tissue injuries
Employer
Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro Inc.
Sector
Electrical utility
Scale
About 180 people, serving 91,000 homes and businesses
Period
2016
What they did
A participatory ergonomics program: an ergonomics and wellness team drawn from employees, managers and health and safety staff, redesigning the tasks that were producing the injuries.
What was measured
Sustained reduction in soft tissue injuries
30% reduction
Soft tissue injuries fell by a third and stayed down, at an Ontario utility.
as published: 30% reduction
Review evidence behind the approach
9 of the 10 studies
Participatory ergonomics studies reporting positive health effects
What this means for your site
Ergonomics lowers the demand side of the equation. Capacity training raises the supply side. Doing one without the other leaves half the gap open, which is why our assessment covers the task as well as the person.
Measure yours.
Every result on this page started with an employer who decided to count something. We will help you count the right thing.
