Injury Prevention by Design: Measuring Greenhouse Worker Social Sustainability for Redesigned Equipment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Klesmith ◽  
Abigail R. Clarke-Sather ◽  
Katherine Schofield
Keyword(s):  
Physical Exertion ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Baseline Risk ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Excessive Strain ◽  
Midwest Region ◽  
Greenhouse Workers ◽  
Safety Professional ◽  
Professional Tool

Abstract The greenhouse industry is a multibillion-dollar sector of U.S. agricultural production. Greenhouse workers often experience hazardous working conditions placing them at risk for injury. These injuries include but are not limited to mechanized operations causing machine and tool related injuries, on-site shipping and loading practices placing excessive strain on a worker’s body, working from height leading to slips and falls, and a strenuous indoor working environment exceeding workers’ physical capabilities. This project focused on identifying greenhouse worker injury trends using workers’ compensation data from the Midwest region and observing and interviewing workers at one specific greenhouse company host site. Physical exertion, lifting and handling, and falls were all high value workers’ compensation problems for Midwestern regional greenhouses. A new piece of equipment and process was designed to prevent worker injury identified within the host site. The baseline risk from the original equipment was compared to the new equipment using a newly proposed indicator of social sustainability based on a validated safety professional tool, the risk assessment matrix (RAM), was utilized. The RAM found a reduction in risk between the original and new equipment. The new equipment design and process exhibited improvement in six out of the eleven hazards identified in the RAM. These improvements addressed lifting and handling concerns. Combining workers’ compensation data analysis, on-site observation, and worker interviews together was an effective method to rapidly deploy and design safer and thus more socially sustainable equipment for greenhouse workers.

scholarly journals Segmentation of Severe Occupational Incidents in Agribusiness Industries Using Latent Class Clustering

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (18) ◽  
pp. 3641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Davoudi Kakhki ◽  
Steven A. Freeman ◽  
Gretchen A. Mosher
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
Midwest Region ◽  
Safety Intervention ◽  
Significant Injury

One of the principle objectives in occupational safety analysis is to identify the key factors that affect the severity of an incident. To identify risk groups of occupational incidents and the factors associated with them, statistical analysis of workers’ compensation claims data is performed using latent class clustering, for the segmentation of 1031 severe occupational incidents in agribusiness industries in the Midwest region of the United States between 2008–2016. In this study, severe incidents are those with workers’ compensation costs equal to or greater than $100,000 (USD). Based on the latent class clustering results, three risk groups are identified with injury nature as the most statistically distinctive classifier. The highest cost injuries include strain, tear, fracture, contusion, amputation, laceration, burn, concussion, and crushing. The most prevalent and statistically significant injury type is permanent partial disability. The study introduces a novel application of latent class clustering in the segmentation of high severity occupational incidents. The analytical approach and results of this study will aid safety practitioners in identifying occupational risk groups and analyzing injury patterns, and inform safety intervention plans to avoid the occurrence of similar incidents in agribusiness industries.

scholarly journals Occupational Identities and Physical Exertion in (re)configurations of New Technologies in Eldercare

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeppe Zielinski Nguyen Ajslev ◽  
Helene Højbjerg ◽  
Malene Friis Andersen ◽  
Lars Louis Andersen ◽  
Otto Melchior Poulsen
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Physical Exertion ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Positioning Theory ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Care Work ◽  
Empirical Knowledge ◽  
Agential Realism ◽  
Care Workers

New technologies are perceived as a solution to the rising proportion of people requiring elderly care across the Nordic countries. Implementing technologies has unforeseen consequences for the content of work and the working environment. This interview-based study within Danish elderly care investigates the consequences of physical exertion for the work and occupational identities of care workers. Through analytical framework integrating positioning theory and agential realism, the study shows that new technologies in certain constellations may further synergies between the reduction of physical exertion and occupational identities, and in others may harm this relation. The study contributes to empirical knowledge about implementing technologies and to discussions of moral literacy and workarounds within care work by suggesting that the ability to openly judge and question physical and ethical consequences of employing technologies is a valuable competence for care workers and, in addition, that furthering these competences is a challenge for managers and legislators.

scholarly journals Role of Ergonomic Factors Affecting Production of Leather Garment-Based SMEs of India: Implications for Social Sustainability

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1414
Author(s):  
Koppiahraj Karuppiah ◽  
Bathrinath Sankaranarayanan ◽  
Syed Mithun Ali ◽  
Golam Kabir
Keyword(s):  
Research Work ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Literature Survey ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Human Machine Interaction ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Poor Ventilation

This paper aims to identify, evaluate, and measure the ergonomic factors hampering the production of leather garment-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Ergonomic problems faced by the workers largely impact the health of individuals and also the productivity of a firm. Based on experts’ opinions and a literature survey, three emerging categories—namely, occupational disease, personal factors, and the industrial environment—with a total of twenty factors were identified to examine symmetrical impact in five leather garment companies. In this research work, Cronbach’s α was evaluated to check the validity of the ergonomic factors identified through the literature survey. Then, using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), the identified ergonomic factors were evaluated. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to validate the robustness of the results obtained using the integrated approach. Outdated machinery, vibration, operational setup, fatigue, and poor ventilation and lighting are the top five factors inducing ergonomic-related problems and hampering the production of the leather garment companies in India. These top ergonomic factors are the result of a failure in the provision of an ambient working environment. Providing ergonomically designed working environments may lower the occurrence of ergonomic problems. The findings of this study will assist industrial managers to enhance production rate and to progress towards social sustainability in Indian SMEs. The proposed symmetrical assessment in this study could also be considered as a benchmark for other companies in which human–machine interaction is significant.

The hygienic significance of the heating microclimate in the formation of health disorders of workers (review)

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-65
Author(s):  
Tamara Anatolyevna Novikova ◽  
Svetlana Sergeevna Abramkina ◽  
Yuliya Aleksandrovna Aleshina
Keyword(s):  
Thermal State ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Physical Exertion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Body ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Occupational Risks ◽  
Health Disorders

The thermal effect of the working environment, leading to overheating of the body of workers, can manifest itself as thermal injuries, accompanied by a deterioration in well-being, a decrease in working capacity, and various health disorders. In addition, an increased air temperature can become a trigger for the activation of biological effects caused by other industrial factors— noise, vibration, harmful chemicals, physical exertion, the combined effect of which has a potentiating effect. The aim of the work was to analyze the literature data on the study of the negative impact of the heating microclimate on the health of workers and to determine measures for its prevention. The analysis of domestic and foreign sources of scientific information and publications contained in Russian and international search systems (databases eLIBRARY, PubMed, etc.) devoted to the study of the features of the formation of a heating environment and its influence on the formation of health disorders of workers in various industries and agriculture. The importance of studies of the heating microclimate as a factor of occupational health risk is shown, the directions of primary prevention of its negative impact, aimed at protecting against overheating and normalizing the thermal state of the workers’ body, are determined. Analysis of literature data allowed us to conclude that the negative health effects of the thermal effects of the working environment are currently insufficiently studied, further research is needed to assess occupational risks associated with its exposure, as well as the processes of adaptation to the thermal load of workers in various industries and agriculture, taking into account their specifics.

Issues in California Workers' Compensation: Substantial Medical Evidence, Causation, and Apportionment

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
Steven D. Feinberg
Keyword(s):  
Compensation System ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Medical Evidence

Abstract This article describes special aspects of addressing and defining substantial medical evidence, causation, and apportionment in the California Workers' Compensation system. Substantial medical evidence is framed in terms of reasonable medical probability, and the opinion must be based on fact and not be speculative. The issue of whether the injury occurred in the course of employment is left to the Trier of Fact (WCAB judge). The issue of arising out of employment is a medical issue left to the physician. Apportionment applies to both the industrial and nonindustrial cause of the disability.

Use of the AMA Guides in State Workers' Compensation Systems: 2009 Update

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-16
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Brigham ◽  
Jenny Walker
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
North Carolina ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
South Dakota ◽  
Rhode Island ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Fourth Edition ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
Specific Guideline ◽  
Compensation Systems

Abstract The AMAGuides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) is the most widely used basis for determining impairment and is used in state workers’ compensation systems, federal systems, automobile casualty, and personal injury, as well as by the majority of state workers’ compensation jurisdictions. Two tables summarize the edition of the AMA Guides used and provide information by state. The fifth edition (2000) is the most commonly used edition: California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, and Washington. Eleven states use the sixth edition (2007): Alaska, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wyoming. Eight states still commonly make use of the fourth edition (1993): Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia. Two states use the Third Edition, Revised (1990): Colorado and Oregon. Connecticut does not stipulate which edition of the AMA Guides to use. Six states use their own state specific guidelines (Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin), and six states do not specify a specific guideline (Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Virginia). Statutes may or may not specify which edition of the AMA Guides to use. Some states use their own guidelines for specific problems and use the Guides for other issues.

State-by-State Use of AMA Guides

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 3-7, 16
Keyword(s):  
Expert Testimony ◽  
Narrow Range ◽  
The United States ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Federal Employees ◽  
Permanent Disability ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
History Of ◽  
Canadian Provinces

Abstract This article presents a history of the origins and development of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), from the publication of an article titled “A Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment of the Extremities and Back” (1958) until a compendium of thirteen guides was published in book form in 1971. The most recent, sixth edition, appeared in 2008. Over time, the AMA Guides has been widely used by US states for workers’ compensation and also by the Federal Employees Compensation Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, as well as by Canadian provinces and other jurisdictions around the world. In the United States, almost twenty states have developed some form of their own impairment rating system, but some have a narrow range and scope and advise evaluators to consult the AMA Guides for a final determination of permanent disability. An evaluator's impairment evaluation report should clearly document the rater's review of prior medical and treatment records, clinical evaluation, analysis of the findings, and a discussion of how the final impairment rating was calculated. The resulting report is the rating physician's expert testimony to help adjudicate the claim. A table shows the edition of the AMA Guides used in each state and the enabling statute/code, with comments.

Medical and Legal Issues Raised by the Protz Decision Issued by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 12-13
Author(s):  
LuAnn Haley ◽  
Marjorie Eskay-Auerbach
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
Complex Concept ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
Recent Edition ◽  
Impairment Ratings ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract Pennsylvania adopted the impairment rating provisions described in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) in 1996 as an exposure cap for employers seeking predictability and cost control in workers’ compensation claims. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania handed down the Protz decision, which held that requiring physicians to apply the methodology set forth in the most recent edition of the AMA Guides reflected an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to the American Medical Association. The decision eliminates the impairment-rating evaluation (IRE) mechanism under which claimants were assigned an impairment rating under the most recent edition of the AMA Guides. The AMA Guides periodically are revised to include the most recent scientific evidence regarding impairment ratings, and the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, acknowledges that impairment is a complex concept that is not yet defined in a way that readily permits an evidence-based definition of assessment. The AMA Guides should not be considered standards frozen in time simply to withstand future scrutiny by the courts; instead, workers’ compensation acts could state that when a new edition of the AMA Guides is published, the legislature shall review and consider adopting the new edition. It appears unlikely that the Protz decision will be followed in other jurisdictions: Challenges to using the AMA Guides in assessing workers’ compensation claims have been attempted in three states, and all attempts failed.

Impairment Tutorial: Rating Facial Disfigurement After an Injury

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-6
Author(s):  
Marc T. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Current Work ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Facial Disfigurement ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Compensation Claim ◽  
Impairment Ratings

Abstract This article discusses two important cases that involve the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides). First, in Vargas v Industrial Com’n of Arizona, a claimant had a pre-existing non–work-related injury to his right knee as well as a work-related injury, and the issue was apportionment of the pre-existing injury. The court held that, under Arizona's statute, the impairment from the pre-existing injury should be subtracted from the current work-related impairment. In the second case, Colorado courts addressed the issue of apportionment in a workers’ compensation claim in which the pre-existing injury was asymptomatic at the time of the work-related injury (Askey v Industrial Claim Appeals Office). In this case, the court held that the worker's benefits should not be reduced to account for an asymptomatic pre-existing condition that could not be rated accurately using the AMA Guides. The AMA Guides bases impairment ratings on anatomic or physiologic loss of function, and if an examinee presents with two or more sequential injuries and calculable impairments, the AMA Guides can be used to apportion between pre-existing and subsequent impairments. Courts often use the AMA Guides to decide statutorily determined benefits and are subject to interpretation by courts and administrative bodies whose interpretations may vary from state to state.

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