DICA Encourages Ergonomic Material Handling
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that construction is one of the most injury prone industries, due to employees frequently needing to repeatedly lift, stoop, kneel, twist, grip, and stretch. These repetitive motions can lead to musculoskeletal injuries, including back and neck stress, carpal tunnel syndrome, and tendonitis.
An article published by Incident Prevention, Avoid Injury When Lifting and Moving Objects, dives into the three Ps of how to prevent unnecessary strain on the body while moving heavy objects–Planning, Positioning and Movement, and Picking up/Putting down.
DICA designs its products with ergonomic features that help reduce the risks associated with manual lifting and handling. SafetyTech and FiberTech Outrigger Pads give workers the option of rolling the pads to avoid carrying them altogether. In addition, they feature DICA’s patented TuffGrip Handles which encourages proper lifting posture and technique. With two handles on opposite sides of the pad, the weight per handle is typically under 50 pounds per person.
The above features relate directly to two of the tips outlined in the article and noted below by Jesse Hardy, Executive VP of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality for Ferrovial Services.
- “Eliminate the manual lift: Ask yourself, can I mechanically lift this load? If so, do it – you may be saving your back and other parts of your body.”
- “Get help if you need it: In general, it’s not a good idea to lift more than 35 to 50 pounds on your own, but you may need help with a lighter load, too, if it’s large, awkward or missing adequate handholds.”