Electrician Ergonomic Research Study 2006

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Electrician Ergonomic Research Study - 2006

• Prepared for Physicians Health Care Providers

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Ergonomic Research Study - 2006

• 1985 I was working for the Ontario Public School
  Trustees Association as a senior Labour Relations
  Officer in charge of research and negotiations
  for 54 school boards in Ontario. Thats when the
  Worker Compensation Appeals Tribunal was
  established and a new area of law was emerging.

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Accident versus Disablement

• In 1986 the leading case regarding the definition
  of accident involved a sewing machine operator
  and whether her carpel tunnel syndrome was an
  accident under the law. The Tribunal reviewed
  the legal definition of accident, as the workers
  CTS was a cumulative trauma, not a traditional
  accident. The Tribunal ruling embraced and
  clarified the concept of disablement or an injury
  emerging gradually over time. It set in motion
  profound changes in the area of workers
  compensation that affects all workers to this
  day, regardless of sector.

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It Started With A Garment Worker

• Looking backing, I remember how complicated that
  decision was for employers and workers in
  understanding the concept that a worker could
  have a work injury without necessarily having
  had an accident. The release of Decision 79
  forced the Ontario WCB/WSIB and labour and
  management stakeholders in Ontario to reset their
  thinking regarding the definition of accident.
  It was a complicated decision that had profound
  implications, particularly for construction
  workers.

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Revolution Started in 1987

• Ironically, at the same time, the late brother
  Wally Majeskys seminal report (the 1987 Ontario
  Task Force Report on Vocational Rehabilitation)
  was tabled in the Ontario Legislature. It
  introduced for the first time, among other
  reforms, mandatory vocational rehabilitation or
  retraining for injured workers. These two
  important changes continue to this day,
  benefiting working people. But none more than
  construction workers who historically have no
  seniority or job security provisions in the
  traditional industrial relations context.

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The Start of This Journey

• My presentation today on the LU 353 Ergonomic
  Study is an outgrowth of my professional
  experiences representing Local 353 members with
  their workers compensation claims. When Joe
  Fashion hired me in 1998, our local was
  reasonably sophisticated regarding workers
  compensation. We represented our members with
  their myriad issues and disputes, but as time
  progressed, the complexity, and frequency, of
  certain issues required a new approach. Before I
  started, we had used legal counsel to argue
  Tribunal appeals and judiciously selected which
  cases went to appeal. Today, we take forward any
  case we feel merits a hearings. Access to
  justice is a non-issue for L.U. 353.

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Missing Vital Information Reliant on Ad Hoc
Reports Job Descriptions

• However, as time went on, it became painfully
  obvious to me that we needed to add to our tool
  kit when filing claims, arguing cases and
  obtaining medical reports and other forensic and
  epidemiological research. As the person
  responsible for processing member claims and
  arguing appeals, I grew frustrated having to use
  a WCB job description for electricians and ad hoc
  physical demands analysis generated from other
  cases. In fact, we continue to use a WCB job
  description for an ICI electrician. In essence,
  we (labour/management) were like cobblers with
  holes in our shoes.

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Contractors Also Lacked This Info.

• As the largest IBEW Local in Canada, I recognized
  after several years we didnt have all the tools,
  but we muddled along. This same criticism
  applies to the employer community. I saw what
  the contractors brought to the table. There was
  a paucity of information and a profound lack of
  resources, such as job descriptions, research,
  physical demands analysis and ergonomic
  information. After a 100 years of brotherhood,
  there was a real need to progress in this area.

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We Need Good Research to Represent our Members
with Workers Comp

• In the area of workers compensation, advocates
  need good epidemiological research, job
  descriptions, task analysis, ergonomic
  assessments, and physical demands analysis, so we
  can provide a snapshot of your job to a doctor,
  workers compensation board or appeal forum,
  thereby assisting them to make comparisons, and
  informed decisions, regarding the types of
  injuries that are associated with certain work
  demands. The bottom line is causation or
  causality.

10
Employers Focus is on Costs, Mutual Gains Is Not
the Solution

• There is no doubt that it was the IBEW in Ontario
  that took the initiative in the area of
  ergonomics, not the contractors - in spite of our
  well entrenched model of mutual gains and joint
  labour management cooperation. When it comes to
  workers compensation, I believe the employer
  community is more focused on lost time injuries
  and developing programs that protect their bottom
  line. This is not a knock, but a reality.

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Zero Lost Time Claims Does Not Mean - No Work
Injuries

• To illustrate this point, we have all heard or
  seen employer PR Advertisements trumpeting they
  have ZERO LOST TIME injury claims after 1 million
  man hours. Think about that very carefully.
  They are not saying they have ZERO injuries, but
  they have not had to pay out a claim. Or more
  accurately, the worker has not received a payment
  from Workers Compensation. While that PR pitch
  has a soothing motherhood and apple pie ring to
  it, beyond that slogan, thats where the battle
  begins between injured workers and employers.

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Labour Management Have Different Interests with
Workers Compensation

• In the area of workers compensation where I
  practice, its amazing that in almost 10 years,
  the employer community has never been on our side
  of the table arguing a case - While the union has
  often supported their claims for cost relief
  (ie., SIEF). Make no mistake, workers
  compensation is adversarial, notwithstanding our
  heavy investment in labour/management
  partnerships at other levels of our mature
  bargaining relationship. However, when it comes
  to workers compensation, workers and employers,
  have uniquely different interests.

13
We Have Good Employers, But They Are Adverse to
Injury Claims

• When it comes to workers compensation claims,
  there is an employer culture that seems adverse
  to compensation claims. In fact, this comment
  applies to all industry sectors, not just
  construction. Im sure the delegates in
  attendance from other provincial jurisdictions
  probably have the same experience. Thats not to
  suggest we dont have good employers who respect
  and uphold their obligations to their employees.
  Because we have a lot of good employers. In my
  experience, employers have an agenda which is
  largely driven by cost containment. The reality
  is workers compensation can be expensive on their
  bottom line. However, we are in the membership
  business, and must protect our members interests.
  This reality makes for an elusive mutual
  gains solution.

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Its Either WCB or Union Disability Benefits The
Undefended Boarder

• While I have addressed the issue of employer
  costs, lets reflect on the cost impacts using
  Local 353 as an example, as we self-fund our
  union health and welfare plan. You can imagine
  the potential liability we face when legitimate
  work injuries are not processed through workers
  compensation, but paid for by the union
  disability plan and the members hourly
  contributions. My friends, the economics and
  costs would boggle your mind regarding this
  un-defended border between WCB/WSIB and our union
  health and welfare plan. We are a large local
  and those costs are very real and tangible. Its
  not just the claims we win on appeal, but the
  claims we keep outside of sphere of the union
  disability plan that are staggering.

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50 of Injuries Result from the Physical Demands
or the Work Process

• The new battle front in workers compensation law
  is epidemiological research. Remember, 50 of
  the claims filed by electrical workers are not
  accidents, but injuries that emerge gradually
  over time. These are called disablements or
  MSDs. In other words, it is the physical demands
  of our work that constitutes the injuring process
  or mechanism of injury. And this tends to be
  poorly documented, and inadequately understood by
  our members, contractors and the health care
  professionals who treat them. Thus, the issue of
  causation or causality, is a constant problem
  in the area of workers compensation.

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Ergo Study Flowed From LU 353 Occupational Health
Clinic - 2005

• In April 2005, Local 353 held the first of its
  kind Occupational Health Clinic. A summary is
  contained in the Ergo Study. OHCOW was also
  commissioned to complete a musculoskeletal
  discomfort/symptom survey of our membership. The
  focus of the survey included basic demographics
  and MSK discomfort in various body parts,
  assessment of level of discomfort, and frequency
  of discomfort. Most respondents were from the
  ICI sector (81.3). OHCOW found that within the
  last year (or time of survey), an average of
  50.35 of reporting union members experienced
  work related aches pain. However, remained
  outside the sphere of the WCB system.

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Needs Analysis Identified Areas to Investigate
and Focus our Attention

• As the LU 353 workers compensation consultant for
  the past 10 years, I noticed a lack of ergonomic
  information related to electrical workers. In
  response, I prepared a needs analysis directly
  focusing on workplace injuries and preventative
  injury measures, which highlighted the need for
  updated job descriptions that included a task
  analysis and physical demands description (PDD).
  Current PDD information on file at the Local was
  incomplete and lacked a consistent structure that
  could be presented to health care professionals
  and appeal forums.

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How The Ergo Study All Started

• In 2006, flowing from our Occupational Health
  Clinic research findings, Local 353 in
  cooperation with the Toronto Occupational Health
  Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) commissioned
  an ergonomic research project to examine the work
  of LU 353 electricians in the five electrical
  sectors ICI, Low Rise Residential, High Rise
  Residential, Line Utility Traffic, and
  Communication.

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Need for Up-to-date PDDs

• Over the years, Local 353 had compiled an
  assortment of job descriptions and PDDs for each
  of the five trade sectors. The PDDs were
  generated through WSIB cases and Ad Hoc work site
  reviews, and not through union initiation, so
  that each PDD had a different structure making
  them hard to compare. The PDDs and job
  descriptions were also a number of years old and
  did not reflect recent changes and growth in the
  trade sectors.

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Physical Demands Decriptions An Ergonomic Job
Description

• Updated PDDs, along with task analysis is useful
  in a number of ways. Consistent job
  descriptions, task analysis and PDDs in all
  sectors will enable union members and their
  health care professionals to better understand
  the physical demands normally experienced in the
  various trade sectors, and the relationship
  between work and certain types of injuries. For
  most laypeople the only experience they have with
  electrical work involves in-home wiring.
  Although that is one aspect of electrical work,
  electrical work is much more broad and varied.
  Limited knowledge of electrical work is not a
  basis to make prognostications regarding return
  to work or opinions on causality.

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Manitoba PDD Template Selected

• After reviewing various PDD templates used by
  OHCOW and Local 353, we selected a template from
  the Government of Manitobas safety database.
  The selected template was comprehensive, from a
  secure and reputable source, covered a detailed
  amount of information, provided a structured
  template that was similar in scope to WSIB
  templates and was a two-page form. These are at
  the back of the green book.

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Literature Review of 6 Typical Injuries and
Associated Mechanism of Injury

• As Early and Safe Return to Work is the guiding
  goal in Ontario Workers Compensation, updated
  ergonomic literature will also enable supervisors
  and health care professionals to better identify
  acceptable work for back to work placement
  after an injury. This has become a major theme
  in Ontario. The 6 research studies can also be
  used to educate workers and employers,
  proactively reducing injury risk. The goal of
  our Ergonomic project was to generate current
  task analysis for each job activity with
  photographs illustrating the work being done
  and to generate PDDs for the five electrical
  trade sectors.

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6 Research Studies Commissioned

• The eight key job demands originally slated to be
  reviewed included the following topics pipe
  bending, slab work, overhead work, installing
  heavy cable, use of handheld manual tools, use of
  handheld power tools, working on ladders and
  kneeling and crouching. Further review of
  literature revealed connections between topics
  that lead to topics being combined and the total
  number of papers decreasing to six.

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Standard Structure to Research Papers

• A standard structure for the 6 research papers
  was adopted and included the following sections
• Introduction
• Mechanism of Injury
• Potential Injuries
• Risk Factors for Injury
• By giving the papers a standard structure, they
  are easier to read and also lend themselves well
  to comparison between topics. These are found
  at the front of the green book.

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Started with Low Rise

• Data collection was completed sector-by-sector
  beginning with Low Rise Residential. Low Rise
  was reviewed first because the work follows a
  similar pattern day to day, allowing those
  collecting the data to work through their
  learning curve before attempting to document a
  sector with more daily variance.

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Work Was Analyzed, Not Performance

• It was emphasized to contractors and workers that
  we were not measuring individual performance,
  rather, how the actual work was physically
  performed. Workers were also asked open-ended
  questions in relation to their jobs. Using this
  technique allowed workers to respond with their
  own opinions and minimized the questioner to
  guide or direct the answers. As an example - at
  the end of the day, how does your body feel?

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Field Visits, Video Recording and Photographs

• Data collecting included photographing and video
  recording work being done. When observing a
  worker, it was imperative to monitor body
  mechanics first and task steps second. Any
  questions regarding steps or body mechanics could
  be reviewed by examining the film or photographs
  taken on site. This eliminated incorrect
  observations due to false memory retrieval.

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Field Visit Methodology

• Height measurements, timing of tasks and force
  measurements were also taken. Measures taken
  with the force gauge, stopwatch and measuring
  tape were done three times, with the average of
  the three measures being recorded. Using the
  average provides a more realistic measurement by
  minimizing recording effects of an extreme
  nature.

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Data Collection, Major Tasks Only

• Data collection also included recording major job
  tasks and their associated steps. Employee
  experience and knowledge was used to clarify
  important job tasks and steps. Only major job
  tasks were recorded so that the document could be
  used by a majority of employees within each
  sector.

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Task Analysis, A New Twist to Job Descriptions

• Once data collection was complete, the tasks were
  written up and briefly analyzed in accordance
  with up to date occupational health and safety
  literature, specifically focusing on NIOSH
  (National Institute of Occupational Safety and
  Health) and CCOHS (Canadian Centre for
  Occupational Health and Safety) guidelines, which
  are used by the WSIB and most provincial workers
  compensation boards. A photograph that clearly
  illustrated the main task was also incorporated
  into the analysis.

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Every LU 353 Member Was Sent a Copy of the Ergo
Study

• With the completion of research in 2006 and the
  printing of the Ergo Study in February 2007, we
  moved to the next phase. Local 353 printed
  11,000 copies and distributed one to every
  member, and our 1,700 retirees. Members were
  instructed to bring the report to their family
  doctors and request that the report be placed in
  their patient file for future reference in the
  event of a work related injury with unknown
  etiology (ie., no accident history).

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Other Affiliates Want to Initiate an Ergo Study
in their Jurisdiction

• Since the release of our report, there has been
  tremendous interest both inside and outside the
  construction industry. In addition to the
  Ministry of Labour embracing the Local 353 Ergo
  Study, a number of faculty departments have
  requested copies, not to mention other unions who
  are just beginning to turn their minds to the
  subject. While the IBEW study is by no means
  revolutionary, we are the first building trade
  affiliate to undertake such an initiative, and
  other the trades are now looking to initiate a
  similar study in their own jurisdiction.

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Ministry of Labour Supports LU 353 Contention
that MSD Account for 50

• Within our labour community, there were some
  voices who claimed that 80 of the electrician
  claims were occupational disease. That may have
  been the case in some jurisdictions where the
  predominate industry is chemical. From where I
  was standing in Toronto, I disagreed, and said
  that Occupational Disease was perhaps 5-10,
  Accidents 45, and Disablements 45. I was
  singled out for criticism. However, the Ministry
  of Labour has recognized that 50 of the injury
  claims are RSI or repetitive strain injuries.
  This confirms what I have been saying regarding
  our experience in Local 353.

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Ministry of Labour Inspectors Using Local 353
Ergo Study

• To that end, the Ontario Minister of Labour has
  tasked the Inspectors to police not only
  Occupational Health Safety violations, but also
  ergonomic violations. This represents a huge
  shift in the inspectorates mandate. At the very
  moment in time when the Minister of Labour was
  giving his inspectors new marching orders
  regarding the need to police for ergonomics, the
  Local 353 Ergonomic Study landed on his desk.
  The MOL Director of Occupational Health
  Safetys immediate response was to embrace the
  IBEW report and distribute it to the inspectors
  in the field as one of their tools to identify
  unsafe ergonomic work practices in construction.

35
CSAO Trumpet LU 353 Study

• The Construction Safety Association of Ontario in
  March 2007 issued a news release Electricians
  Something You and Your Doctor Should Know. They
  stated
• Does your doctor really understand the physical
  demands of your job and the health risks that
  come with it? IBEW Local 353 produced a research
  study for electricians to give to their doctors.
  The study focuses on ergonomics and
  muskuloskeletal disorders (MSDs) which are
  usually less obvious injuries with less obvious
  causes than a burn or broken arm. The study will
  help doctors assess the root cause of an injury
  and make informed decisions about the type of
  activities the worker can do when returning to
  the job.

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LU 353 on the Right Track for the Right Reasons

• Since the release of the Ergo Study we have
  received very favourable feedback from our
  members, their health care professionals and
  other stakeholders. It is particularly rewarding
  when our members who work for many branches of
  government, including the Electrical Safety
  Authority, praise the union for its pioneering
  work. And as Joe Fashion stated in the forward
  As your Business Manager, it makes me proud when
  we do the right things for the right reasons.