Workload Issues among Commercial Cleaning Workers (Discussion Panel)

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 947-949
Author(s):  
Stephen Bao ◽  
Ben Walker ◽  
Debra Milek ◽  
Wonil Lee ◽  
Andrew Ryan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Musculoskeletal Disorder ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
The University ◽  
Discussion Panel

Cleaning is a generic and essential job in various sectors and workplaces, commonly under the categories of janitorial or custodial services. Cleaning activities in organizations are often not the main business outputs of those organizations that they serve. Such jobs are performed either by an organization’s own employees, or more often, contracted out to external service providers. Therefore even organizations may have well-established occupational health and safety programs, the issues of cleaning workers’ work conditions are often overlooked (Seixas et al. 2013), thus resulting in high workers’ compensation claims (Lynch 2011, Smith and Anderson 2017). In the University of California system alone, there were 761 workers’ compensation claims among the custodial workers in 2010, with an actuarial estimated ultimate direct cost of $7.1 million (Lynch 2011). It has been suggested that workload among commercial cleaning workers has been increasing over the years, which may be responsible for the increased workers’ compensation claims among cleaning workers (Simcox et al. 2013, Teran and vanDommelen-Gonzalez 2017). It seems that it is necessary to understand the workload situation among commercial janitors so that proper protection ideas and mechanisms can be developed and implemented. However, current knowledge about cleaning workers’ workload is still very limited. Standard worktimes, which are normally based on time studies, are often used to develop “acceptable” janitorial workloads in the cleaning industry (Walker 2018). However, ergonomics researchers have been observing high musculoskeletal disorder risks among janitorial workers (Messing et al. 1998, Norman et al. 2003, Schwartz et al. 2019). Since the risk factors are multifaceted, this Discussion Panel consisting of a number of content experts including researchers, government health and safety specialists, and industry practitioners aim to help janitorial/custodial work conditions. We hope we will be able to develop a framework for future research on establishing healthy and safe workload for cleaning workers.

scholarly journals Muscle Health: The Gateway to Population Health Management

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Gilliam ◽  
Paul Terpeluk
Keyword(s):  
Muscular Strength ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Cleveland Clinic ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Skeletal Health ◽  
Strength Assessment ◽  
Safety Research ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
New Hire

The muscle on your frame is a prime indicator of health and longevity. Dr. Paul Terpeluk with the Cleveland Clinic has stated that muscular strength is the new vital sign of workplace health and safety. Research studies focusing on Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, musculo-skeletal injuries, certain cancers and the delay of dementia have shown a strong correlation between disease prevention and muscular strength. IPCS’ database of over 500,000 strength tests have shown a workers’ absolute strength today is at least 14% weaker than the worker 15 years ago and weighs about 8 pounds more. Over the last 10 years, there has been a significant shift by 52% with an increase in the number of workers with a BMI of 35 or greater. The Cleveland Clinic implemented a new hire muscular strength assessment to place new hire applicants into jobs that match their physical capability in 2011. The outcomes show a statistically significant reduction in number of employee health, pharmacy and workers’ compensation claims and costs with overall savings near $25 million. Musculo-skeletal health of the worker can be improved. When a worker maintains good muscular strength, the worker is more productive, has fewer medical claims and workers’ compensation claims.

scholarly journals Resilience in a prehospital setting - a new focus for future research?

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Jeppesen ◽  
Siri Wiig
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
Prehospital Setting ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Main Body ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Abstract Background Handling and initiating of treatment in a prehospital setting are complex processes that involve many treatment options and include several parts of the chain of survival. Capacity to adapt to unexpected changes in the patients’ conditions or in the surroundings is a prerequisite for patient safety. Outside the healthcare sector, safety science is moving from an approach focused on the analysis and management of error (Safety I) to instead understanding the inherent properties of safety systems (Safety II). In healthcare the attention to why service providers are able to succeed under challenging conditions remains sparse. The aim of this commentary is to give a better understanding of how the concept and inclusion of resilience can inspire a new approach for future research in prehospital settings. So far, most resilience studies have been conducted in emergency departments while the role of contextual factors and adaptations in a prehospital setting has remained unexplored. Main body In contrast to traditional research on healthcare quality and safety, which tends to focus on failures, resilience research is interested in examining the overwhelming majority of healthcare processes with successful outcomes, to determine how high-quality patient care is generated. Resilience is conceptualized as a proactive ability to adjust to potentially harmful influences and challenges rather than to resist them. To better understand and promote resilience, there is a need to explore the underlying mechanisms of adaptation, trade-offs and improvisation that occur in the emergency chain. Attention to how people respond to disruptions, challenges and opportunities is vital. There are factors, recognized and unidentified, influencing adaptation, trade-offs and improvisation. Influencing factors at different levels could be of particular value to increase knowledge to better understand resilience in a practical perspective. As prehospital work conditions are highly unpredictable and diverse, learning through everyday work could be of great value if the experiences are transferred and integrated in training and simulation. Conclusions Empirical research is of crucial importance to build and support resilient systems and processes in a prehospital setting. We need a new framework and a new approach to how research on this topic is conducted and to support resilient performance. This should involve identifying factors that promote resilience, both on individual-, team- and system- levels.

The Costs of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Automotive Manufacturing

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Punnett
Keyword(s):  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Labor Turnover ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Automotive Manufacturing ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Compensation Claims

Inadequate application of ergonomic principles to the design of workplaces and individual jobs has adverse consequences for worker health and safety, especially in terms of strains, sprains, and other musculoskeletal disorders. In addition to the human pain and suffering, other losses are externalized to workers, with adverse financial and psychosocial impacts. There are also costs to employers through workers' compensation claims, scrap, and decreased production quality, medical insurance premiums, labor turnover, and adverse impacts on labor relations, although many of these are not linked by traditional accounting methods to ergonomic problems per se. Data collected in five plants of two major U.S. automotive manufacturing companies in the last decade have been used to estimate some of the costs associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), only some of which resulted in workers' compensation claims. In one plant in 1984–85, the payroll cost of all back and shoulder disorders was at least $320 per year per worker, not including workers' compensation premiums or claims paid. A large proportion of these costs were accrued by “unreported” cases, that is, cases that either had never been reported to the plant clinic or had been reported in the past and were considered administratively to have recovered. In the other four plants, annual costs associated with in-plant medical visits for MSDs in 1989–93 were almost as high as those resulting from compensation claims. At least one-half of these disorders were estimated to be attributable to physical ergonomic exposures in the workplace and thus preventable. These data are consistent with estimates by others that the real costs to employers are at least two to three times the amount paid in workers' compensation cases, and that at least 50 percent of all work-related musculoskeletal disorders among the working population could be prevented by appropriate ergonomic job design. Furthermore, recent experience with ergonomics programs in various manufacturing and service settings shows that they are cost-effective in reducing morbidity, work absenteeism, and workers' compensation claims; payback periods for workplace modifications can be as short as a few months. Further investigations should explore the reasons that monetary costs and other impacts on profitability do not always motivate employers to improve working conditions.

scholarly journals Psychosocial safety climate: a multilevel theory of work stress in the health and community service sector

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Dollard ◽  
W. McTernan
Keyword(s):  
Work Stress ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Safety Climate ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
Multilevel Theory ◽  
Compensation Claims

Work stress is widely thought to be a significant problem in the health and community services sector. We reviewed evidence from a range of different data sources that confirms this belief. High levels of psychosocial risk factors, psychological health problems and workers compensation claims for stress are found in the sector. We propose a multilevel theoretical model of work stress to account for the results. Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) refers to a climate for psychological health and safety. It reflects the balance of concern by management about psychological healthv.productivity. By extending the health erosion and motivational paths of the Job Demands-Resources model, we propose that PSC within work organisations predicts work conditions and in turn psychological health and engagement. Over and above this, however, we expect that the external environment of the sector particularly government policies, driven by economic rationalist ideology, is increasing work pressure and exhaustion. These conditions are likely to lead to a reduced quality of service, errors and mistakes.

Solar Installations & Their Occupational Risks

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 1243-1247
Author(s):  
Jesse C. Duroha ◽  
Gretchen A. Macht
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Occupational Risks ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Manual Handling ◽  
Scopus Database

With the solar industry’s rapid growth, it is crucial to continuously review and assess the occupational risks associated with photovoltaic (PV) installations. PV installers are exposed to severe occupational risks, including but not limited to electrocution, heat stress, fall accidents, and manual handling risks. However, it is unclear what research is being done to mitigate these risks and where more research is required. Therefore, this paper performs a systematic literature review using the Scopus database to comprehensively review and identify: (1) the current knowledge available regarding the occupational risks associated with PV installations, (2) the health and safety effects these risks have on PV installers, (3) the research being done to mitigate them, and (4) the knowledge gaps for future research. This research can guide areas for future research concerning occupational safety and health in the PV installation sector.

scholarly journals Measurement properties of instruments assessing permanent functional impairment of the spine: a systematic review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e019276
Author(s):  
Suelen Meira Goes ◽  
Catherine M Trask ◽  
Catherine Boden ◽  
Brenna Bath ◽  
Daniel Cury Ribeiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Impairment ◽  
Full Text ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Measurement Properties ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Functional Impairments ◽  
Measurement Instruments ◽  
Health Measurement ◽  
Level Of Evidence

IntroductionPermanent functional impairment (PFI) of the spine is a rating system used by compensation authorities, such as workers compensation boards, to establish an appropriate level of financial compensation for persistent loss of function. Determination of PFI of the spine is commonly based on the assessment of spinal movement combined with other measures of physical and functional impairments; however, the reliability and validity of the measurement instruments used for these evaluations have yet to be established. The aim of this study is to systematically review and synthesise the literature concerning measurement properties of the various and different instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine.MethodsThree conceptual groups of terms (1) PFI, (2) spinal disorder and (3) measurement properties will be combined to search Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro, OTSeeker and Health and Safety Science Abstracts. We will examine peer-reviewed, full-text articles over the full available date range. Two reviewers will independently screen citations (title, abstract and full text) and perform data extraction. Included studies will be appraised as to their methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments criteria. Findings will be summarised and presented descriptively, with meta-analysis pursued as appropriate.Ethics and disseminationThis review will summarise the current level of evidence of measurement properties of instruments used for assessing PFI of the spine. Findings of this review may be applicable to clinicians, policy-makers, workers’ compensation boards, other insurers and health and safety organisations. The findings will likely provide a foundation and direction for future research priorities for assessing spinal PFI.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017060390.

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.

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.): A Viable Credential for Faculty in Programmatically Accredited Business Degree Programs?

10.28945/3529 ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 217-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen L MacLennan ◽  
Anthony A Pina ◽  
Kenneth A Moran ◽  
Patrick F Hafford
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Program ◽  
Business Administration ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Business Programs ◽  
Professional Degree ◽  
Doctor Of Philosophy ◽  
Business Practitioners ◽  
The University

Is the Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A) a viable degree option for those wishing a career in academe? The D.B.A. degree is often considered to be a professional degree, in-tended for business practitioners, while the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is por-trayed as the degree for preparing college or university faculty. Conversely, many academic programs market their D.B.A. programs to future academicians. In this study, we investigat-ed whether the D.B.A. is, in fact, a viable faculty credential by gathering data from univer-sity catalogs and doctoral program websites and handbooks from 427 graduate business and management programs to analyze the terminal degrees held by 6159 faculty. The analysis indicated that 173 institutions (just over 40% of the total) employed 372 faculty whose ter-minal degree was the D.B.A. This constituted just over 6% of the total number of faculty. Additionally, the program and faculty qualification standards of the six regional accrediting agencies and the three programmatic accrediting agencies for business programs (AACSB, IACBE, and ACBSP) were analyzed. Results indicated that all these accrediting agencies treated the D.B.A. and Ph.D. in business identically and that the D.B.A. was universally considered to be a valid credential for teaching business at the university level. Suggestions for future research are also offered.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document