Building and Sustaining a Successful Ergonomics Team

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Building and Sustaining a Successful Ergonomics
Team
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Building a Successful Team

• Specifically chosen members
• Motivated
• Open minded
• Collaborative
• Diverse
• Cross-functional
• Interpersonal skills / Team building

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Team Profile
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Team Profile
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Team Profile
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Hourly Team Profile
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Mission Statement

• Creating a safe and efficient work environment
  for Vesuvius employees

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Team Meetings

• Every two weeks
• One hour
• Participative
• Collaborative

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Resources for Success

• Training
• Ergonomic Job Measurement System
• Accident investigation
• Expos (safety, maintenance, equipment)
• Recognition
• Safety banquet
• Team jacket
• Anniversary cake

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Resources for Success

• Management / Corporate support
• Empower team to implement solutions
• Annual training and travel budget
• Positive reinforcement / encouragement

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Teams Process

• Select area for EJMS
• 3 groups perform EJMS in selected area
• Ask open-ended questions to operators
• Brainstorm potential solutions
• Facilitator records all ideas from all groups

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Teams Process

• Discuss potential benefits to include
• Decreased EJMS score
• Decreased production costs
• Increased production efficiency
• Discuss solutions matrix
• Collaborative decision-making
• Management support for capital projects

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Teams Process

• Generate action assignments
• Ensure operator understanding / buy-in
• Implement the selected solutions
• Involve operators
• Maintenance work orders noted Ergo
• Quality System tracks solutions involving process
  changes

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Teams Process

• Replicate successes
• Follow Rule of Three
• Through process flow
• Update management on progress
• Communicate successes to employees

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Communication

• Bulletin Board
• Meeting minutes
• EJMS before/after
• Photos before/after
• Visual injury log / map
• Updated monthly
• Ergo Happenings postings
• Team accomplishments

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Selecting Tasks for EJMS

• Recommendations from
• employees / leads / supervisors
• Suggestions from team members
• Hot spots from injury logs

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Ergonomic Job Measurement System (EJMS)
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Ergonomic Job Measurement System (EJMS)

• Systematic, repeatable, easy-to-use method for
  facility-based teams to assess risks
• Results are similar to that of a professional
  ergonomist
• EJMS data helps identify, evaluate, and rank
  ergonomic improvements

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The EJMS Form

• Is specifically designed for teams with a basic
  understanding of ergonomic principles
• Evaluates five general risk factors
• Repetitive motion
• Forceful exertions
• Posture
• Environmental conditions
• Employee specifics

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The EJMS Form

• Informational header

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EJMS Section I

• Addresses repetitive motions and awkward postures
• Illustrations indicate what to evaluate
• Force and frequency scores are calculated next to
  each motion/posture

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EJMS Section I

• Strive for consensus, or split the difference
  (ie instead of 5 or 10, make it 7.5)
• Include notes and observations for how the score
  was determined

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Frequency and Force Matrix
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EJMS - Section 2 - lifting
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Determining Final Risk Level

• Subtotal scores
• Ergonomics complaints or injuries
• Total risk score

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EJMS Notes

• Observations specific to operator
• Additional considerations
• Vibration
• Temperature
• Noise
• Potential solutions

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Risk Rating

• A rating of High Risk means the job has a higher
  potential of causing injury than jobs of lower
  risk
• It does not mean there will be an injury
• There is a greater opportunity to reduce the
  score with ergonomic improvements

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Example
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Solutions Brainstorming

• Begin with areas that contributed most to the
  high score
• High effectiveness/low cost solutions
• Low effectiveness/low cost (especially
  combination of several that add up)
• High effectiveness/high cost solutions
• Address areas where something can be done quickly
  and easily (ie height)

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Ergonomics Solutions

• Focus on high risk tasks first, but do not ignore
  medium risk tasks especially if one sub-score is
  substantial
• Use in project justification
• EJMS can be re-scored to demonstrate reduction in
  risk level
• Good tool to use for what if analysis

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Control Selection

• There are at least three ways to solve every
  problem
• Engineering controls
• Administrative / work practices in conjunction
  with engineering controls
• Administrative / work practices

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Control Matrix
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Solution Analysis Matrix
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Recent Vesuvius Charleston Successes
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20 EJMS in 1 Year
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Monotube Rack/Preparation
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Original Problem

• In the packing department employees were manually
  lifting and carrying each 78-pound Monotube piece
  three times
• The original Ergonomic Job
• Measurement Score was 190
• (a score above 85 is high risk)

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Manually Unloading Piece
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Checking Pressure Filing
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Applying Asbury Graphite
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Carrying Piece to Crate
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Solutions

• Lowered the rack 14 and redesigned supports to
  ease surface preparation
• Added 24 lifting strap to hoist pieces from
  racks directly to crates (eliminated all lifting
  plus 2 product moves)
• Obtained approval from Sales to eliminate
  unnecessary processes

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Applying Asbury Graphite
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Checking Pressure Flow
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Using Hoist to Unload Piece
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Using Hoist to Load Piece
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Monotube Rack/Preparation

• Original EJMS score 190 (gt85 is high)
• EJMS score after 38 (lt45 is low risk)
• 80 risk reduction
• 25 production efficiency increase
• 14 straight-time hours in-house maintenance to
  modify racks
• 116 USD for straps and steel for racks

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Unirod Assembling
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Original Problem

• Operators were securing a piece with a strap
  wrench in one hand while applying 110 foot-pounds
  of force with a torque wrench in the other hand
• The original Ergonomic Job
• Measurement Score was 54
• (45-85 is medium risk)

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Unirod Assembling
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Solution

• Designed and fabricated a pneumatic holder to
  allow operators to apply torque with both hands

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Unirod Assembling
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Unirod Assembling

• Original EJMS score 54
• (45-85 is medium risk)
• EJMS score after 44 (lt45 is low risk)
• 19 risk reduction
• 25 straight-time hours in-house maintenance for
  design/fabrication
• 300 USD materials
• Eliminated 720/year expense for strap wrenches

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Making Stencils
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Original Problem

• Operators in two departments were manually
  creating stencils
• The original Ergonomic Job
• Measurement Score was 36
• (lt45 is low risk)

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Manually Making Stencils
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Solution

• Replaced manual stencil machines in two
  departments with one electronic stencil machine

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Electronically Making Stencils
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Making Stencils

• Original EJMS score 36
• (lt45 is low risk)
• EJMS score after 16 (lt45 is low risk)
• 48 risk reduction
• 3,300 USD

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Additional Benefits

• Reduced 2 hours per day operator time making
  stencils (increased production efficiency 13)
• Eliminated 9,000 annual cost for repairing and
  replacing manual stencil machines
• Added ability for complex design stencils for HS
  E

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Product Weight Notification
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Original Problem

• Operators were uncertain if patterns weigh over
  50 pounds, which requires the use of a hoist or
  manipulator to move pieces

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Solution

• Added a pop-up screen to Charleston Filemaker
  database for all products over 50 pounds
• Provided consistent information for all operators
  on all shifts
• One hour data base modification
• Zero cost

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Product Weight Notification
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Creating a safe and efficient work environment
for Vesuvius employees
Vesuvius Charleston Ergonomics
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