Case 47 Their Aching Backs “Not another one!” moaned Jerry, supervisor of the sh
ID: 369104 • Letter: C
Question
Case 47
Their Aching Backs
“Not another one!” moaned Jerry, supervisor of the shelf-stocking unit at the SuperDuper Mart, a 60,000-square-foot discount hardware and lumber supply store. He had just received a call from the company doctor, reporting that one of his crew had suffered a severe strain in the lumbar region of his back. Not only would this employee be off duty for a week or two, the injury would also be recorded as a lost-time accident. Jerry would hear lots about that from his boss, especially since the company’s insurer had been threatening to raise its premium due to the high incidence of back-related injuries at SuperDuper Mart.
To forestall further incidents, Jerry immediately toured the facility, stopping to admonish each of his crew. His message was essentially the same for everyone:
“Too many of you are going to the company doctor complaining about your aching backs. When you were hired, you knew you had to lift 50- to 70-pound cartons on a regular basis.
“There’s no excuse for all these back injuries if you will only be more careful when you’re lifting heavy cartons.
“Furthermore, I’m ordering a batch of those new back-support belts so everyone will have one. Don’t let me catch you not wearing it.
“Remember, from now on around here, it’s going to be safety first.”
Analysis
Despite these admonishments, employees in Jerry’s department continued to have frequent back injuries. What might Jerry have done to be more effective in reducing back injuries in his department? Of the five alternatives listed below, which do you think might be most effective? Rank them on a scale from 1 (most effective) to 5 (least effective). You may add another alternative, if you wish. Be prepared to justify your rankings.
_____a. Post a summary of his message on the bulletin board and hang “safety first” signs throughout the shop.
_____b. Be sure to wear the new back-support belt himself.
_____c. Hold regular safety meetings with his crew so that he can keep emphasizing his safety message.
_____d. Train or retrain all employees in proper lifting techniques.
_____e. Appoint an employee safety committee to study the lifting problems in the store and recommend appropriate safety equipment and protective clothing
Explanation / Answer
Ranking:
1. d. . Train or retrain all employees in proper lifting techniques.
2. e. Appoint an employee safety committee to study the lifting problems in the store and recommend appropriate safety equipment and protective clothing
3. c. Hold regular safety meetings with his crew so that he can keep emphasizing his safety message.
4. a. Post a summary of his message on the bulletin board and hang “safety first” signs throughout the shop.
5. b. Be sure to wear the new back-support belt himself.
Reasoning:
Training and retraining employees in the proper lifting technique is essential to prevent back injuries when the nature of the job includes lifting of heavy weights on a regular basis. Hence, this alternative is ranked first.
The second alternative as per effectiveness is appointment of an employee safety committee to study the current lifting problems and recommend the safety equipments and clothing accordingly. This will help Jerry to analyze the problem areas, and hence prevent them. It is not ranked first as only clothing and equipment cannot prevent back injuries within change in lifting techniques which are ergonomically suitable for the workers.
Holding regular safety meetings can help Jerry to place his safety first agenda firmly into the workers’ minds. But in isolation, without the knowledge of appropriate techniques, and the required safety gear, the message of safety first cannot make much difference, hence it is ranked third.
Safety first message on the boards throughout the shop will serve the same purpose as the meetings in firmly engraving the message in the workers’ minds, but signs will be comparatively less effective as workers become accustomed to them and stop reading after a while.
Lastly, Jerry himself wearing the safety belt will act as an example for the workers to motivate them to wear safety belt themselves, but Jerry is not doing any heavy lifting himself. Hence, it might not have much impact on the workers.
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