OSHA Launches New Ergonomics
Program Standard To Prevent Workplace Injuries

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's much-anticipated ergonomics program standard is now under way. The standard, which the agency predicts will spare 460,000 workers painful injuries and save an average of $9.1 billion a year, took effect on Jan. 16 and will be phased in over four years.

The new OSHA standard could have far-reaching implications for doctors of chiropractic who treat workplace injuries, especially for those chiropractors who specialize in preventing injuries as industrial consultants.

"Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are the No. 1 workplace injury in America," said Charles N. Jeffress, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor. "It is critical that we move forward to put in place real solutions to the real problems that real people are experiencing every day." The final rules were announced in mid-November 2000 by OSHA, which falls under the U.S. Department of Labor.

Dennis Downing, president of Future Industrial Technologies, a chiropractic firm specializing in industrial consulting, said: "This new law mandates that companies confront the causes of MSDs and fix them. This means there is a tremendous need for experts that can train employees in injury prevention. It creates inroads for health-care professionals that know how to treat MSDs and that are informed about vocational activities that cause them."

He added: "Today's chiropractors are perfectly suited to be the solution for their business communities: they have far more training in the field of MSDs, they have become great teachers over the years via internal patient education, and are considered hands-on practitioners."

The OSHA ergonomics program standard covers 6.1 million general industry worksites with more than 102 million workers. About 60 million of these workers are employed at workplaces that have yet to address ergonomics, placing them at risk for potentially disabling MSDs, such as back injuries injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome. The rule does not cover workers and workplaces in construction, maritime, agriculture and railroads.

"The passing of the OSHA regulations for the workplace have been long overdue," said Dr. Mark Sanna, president of Corporate Health of America, a company that consults with industry and chiropractors. "This legislation provides forward-thinking chiropractors with a virtual mandate to significantly impact the healthcare of our nation's workforce. This is truly the opportunity of a decade."

OSHA officials predict that the new ergonomics standard could prevent an estimated 230,000 currently reported MSDs, plus another 230,000 that go unreported. OSHA estimates employers will need to fix 18 million jobs over 10 years, reducing the number of MSDs by 50%, at a cost of $4.5 billion per year.

Each year, 1.8 million employees report work-related MSDs, and OSHA estimates an additional 1.8 million work-related MSDs go unreported. About 600,000 reported MSDs are serious enough to require time off to recover. Work-related MSDs account for one-third of all workers' compensation costs.

The American Chiropractic Association leaders said they support the new OSHA standard. "Every day, doctors of chiropractic treat patients who are suffering from the effects of their poorly designed work stations," said Dr. Scott Bautch, president of the ACA Council on Occupational Health. "These often painful and disabling injuries could be avoided by the recognition of ergonomics issues in the workplace and the implementation of standards dealing with this national epidemic."

The ergonomics standard requires employers in general industry to advise employees about possible injury risks and the importance of reporting signs and symptoms of MSDs promptly to avoid serious injury. Under the new rules, employers are to establish job-based ergonomics programs triggered only when an employee experiences a work-related injury or persistent signs of symptoms of injury in a job that includes one or more of a defined set of risk factors. Employers must analyze these jobs to determine if they are "problem jobs" that need to be fixed. Employers must also ensure medical attention for injured workers and continue their pay and benefits for up to 90 days, if necessary.

"Our final standard establishes concrete, objective guidance for employers to help them determine when they need to take further action and when they've fulfilled their obligation to resolve problems in their workplaces," Jeffress said. "It identifies persistent signs and symptoms of MSDs as problems that must be addressed, and it increases worker participation in ergonomics programs."

Jeffress noted that the agency made significant changes from its original ergonomics proposal, introduced in November 1999, after listening to more than 700 witnesses during a nine-week public hearing and reviewing more than 8,000 public comments on the proposal.

The final ergonomics program standard appeared in the Nov. 14, 2000, edition of the Federal Register. Copies of the regulatory text, preamble, appendices and fact sheets are available at OSHA's website at www.osha.gov. OSHA officials say they also plan to make available, at no charge, single printed copies of the Federal Register document; the print-outs should be available in about a week. OSHA is also publishing the full standard, the complete economic analysis, and an extensive discussion of health effects on CD-ROM. In addition, these materials will be available on OSHA's website. Both the printed copies and the CD-ROM can be ordered over the web or by calling 800-321-OSHA. http://www.osha.gov/ergonomics-standard/faq/index.html

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