Overexertion & Bodily Reaction – The #2 Cause of Injury in Manufacturing

Continuing our series for National Safety Month, we are now looking at the number 2 cause of injuries in Manufacturing. Overexertion and Repetitive Motion injuries accounted for 32% of recordable and costly injuries to workers.

Manufacturing jobs are the definition of repetitive motion and overexertion injury possibilities. Just think of the motions required on the production line, or for the lifting, pushing, pulling, and carrying duties of material handlers.

Within this classification, overexertion accounts for the majority of the injuries. Manufacturing jobs often require workers to be on their feet constantly, bend, twist, and lift heavy objects. Injuries occur when someone is fatigued or pushed beyond their physical capabilities. 

Repetitive motion injuries occur when a worker has to repeat the same motion every day for long periods of time. Connective tissues slowly wear down and become inflamed. 

To the body, sorting marbles all day can be as risky as palletizing those marbles.

A few tips for prevention:

Train your teams to stretch and exercise in preparation for each day

Train and require workers to use proper work techniques, such as lifting

Allow for frequent, short breaks

Ensure that your production lines are ergonomically designed

Rotate workers’ duties to cut down on repetition

Reduce the weight of loads whenever possible

Give The Xcel Group a call to see how we can assist you in making sure your workers are pain-free every day.