Model Ergonomic Team Policy

Safe Solutions with Pless and Associates

paulapless@msn.com

Statement of Practice
Facility Name will utilize an Interdisciplinary Ergonomics Team for the purpose of ensuring a safe work environment for staff and for those in our care. The formation and utilization of this Team will be charged with monitoring the environment to identify Hazards, Potential Risk and the possible need for Engineering Controls as it relates to Ergonomics and patient/resident handling and transferring. The Ergo Team will apply the tools of Root Cause Analysis and After Action Review to every A&I or Near Miss that has been reported. Conducting JSA's is another responsibility of the Ergo Team. The practice of conducting JSA's positively impacts worker safety and guarantees proper orientation for new hires. Compliance with OSHA's Ergonomic Guidelines in LTC will be met through this committee. We realize that a high performance Ergonomic Team will directly impact Facility Name goal to decrease loss workdays, frequency and severity of employee injuries.

Goals

• To create and maintain a safe work environment that eliminates patient/resident and employee risk of injury.
  
• To act on any hazard identified in the environment before it can cause harm.
  
• To apply the principals of Root Cause Analysis and After Action Review to correct or abate potential for harm to our patients/residents and employees.
  
• To apply the SPHM Philosophy as we evaluate, assess, problem solve or utilize engineering controls to achieve worker and work site safety.

Procedure

• The Director or Point Person for the SPHM Program and any other designated employees to this department will Co-Chair the Ergo Team, Administration should Chair.
  
• Representatives from all job types and shift can contribute valuable insights to the identification of workplace hazards. Therefore, Ergo Team membership will represent all disciplines within the facility or hospital, from across all three shifts.
  
• The Ergo Team will be responsible to identify issues effecting worker and/or patient/resident safety and assist to identify solutions to problems.
  
• The Ergo Team members will be identified throughout their building as a resource to other employees. Employees will be encouraged to approach the Ergo Team members with questions or concerns about worker or patient/resident safety. The Ergo Team members will be responsible to bring any issues raised back to the committee for follow-up.
  
• The Ergonomic Team will meet monthly. A representative from this Team will attend the Facility Safety Committee and submit the Ergo minutes to that committee. During the first year of implementation of the SPHM Program/Policy the Team will meet weekly.

2007 update

• The Ergo Team will be responsible to make workplace rounds to identify hazardous conditions. This process can occur in conjunction with environment of care rounds. They will then work to identify solutions for any findings that may have been identified through the rounds. The Ergo Team will notify the appropriate party or parties of any role they may play in correcting hazardous conditions.
  
• The Ergo Team will be responsible for developing an in-service program, to be presented to all employees on the subject of ergonomics, enhanced safety awareness, risk identification and hazard abatement. The topics of the in-services will reflect the trends and needs of the environment based on the reported Near Misses and the employee A&Is that this committee will be responsible to review.
  
• Review of all A&Is and Near Misses should happen immediately as they occur. The Ergonomic/Safety Team will be utilized to monitor and oversee that the A&I review process is being utilized. The Ergo Team will also conduct the AAR and Root Cause Analysis with every A&I or reported Near Miss and conduct JSAs.
  
• A Hazard identification system for employees to report their observations or concerns needs to be established. This system will assist with creating and maintaining a safe work environment as well as OSHA compliance.

Responsibilities

• To all employees, in all levels of the organization.
  
• To become confident and proficient in the use of Root Cause Analysis and After Action Review principals when investigating accidents and incidents.
  
• To conduct Job Safety Analysis which provides the opportunity to mitigate and or eliminate hazard and risk. This tool is also used to train/orient current employees and new hires in how to do the job properly and safely.
  
• To support others in problem solution to maintain a safe work environment.
  
• To use good communication skills with all patient/resident, employees and families to facilitate ?buy in? and program success.
  
• To Lead by Example and to teach the pro-active approach to prevention.
  
• Record minutes at every meeting and provide the minutes to all employees through posting or use of a binder on every unit.