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June 2003

Table of Contents:

1. CIS Onsite's Early Intervention Program reduces company's OSHA recordables
2. Latest IMPACC Program outcomes
3. Think Safe! Properly setting up your computer workstation

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CIS Onsite's

Early Intervention Program Reduces company's OSHA recordables

CIS Onsite has been providing onsite physical and occupation therapy for the treatment of injured employees at R.R. Donnelley, a major publishing company, for three years. When first started, CIS averaged 6-9 therapy clients per week. Now, only 1-2 injured employees are treated per week. This reduction in the number of recordable work injuries is due in large part to the implementation of our Early Intervention (EI) program. This EI program evolved as a result of collaboration between our onsite therapists and the facility's Return to Work Coordinator to reduce injuries, costs, and recordables while minimizing losses of productivity.

The goal of the EI program is to address minor sprains and strains before they become lost-time injuries. The EI program is designed to work with employees as soon as the company contact (Occupational Health Nurse, Safety Director, HR contact) confirms that they have a condition that needs to be addressed. This contact forwards appropriate employees to the CIS Onsite therapist who can evaluate the injured workers and provide hot/cold treatments, massage, exercise programs, job site visits and general education and consultation. In states where therapists have "direct access", these services can be performed without a physician order. Without "direct access", a standing order from a physician is needed.

Of the 26 EI cases thus far, 73% (19) did not require any additional medical treatment. All but one continued to work full-duty. Typically, an employee is seen by the therapist one to four total times, depending on the extent of the injury. Employees are seen one or more times a week. If at anytime the therapist determines that the employee's injury requires additional medical attention, the company contact is notified and a physician referral is made.

This major publishing company calculates that their average cost of a work injury case is about $4000. This amount includes the cost of doctor's visits, x-rays, therapy visits, time off work, Worker's Compensation, and costs associated with having the employee in a light duty program. With the implementation of the EI program, these costs have dropped dramatically and typically range between $100-$400 per case, depending on the number of visits.

As this case study implies, a company can significantly reduce the number of injuries and their related costs by implementing onsite therapy services in conjunction with an Early Intervention program.

For more information how an Early Intervention program can work for your company visit the Prevention Services section of our website or call us toll-free at (866) 298-1312.

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Latest IMPACC Program Outcomes

IMPACC INC. is a team of industrial physical therapists specializing in ergonomics and work injury prevention, including back strain, tendinitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. IMPACC has helped over 500 workplaces across the USA since 1981, including several Fortune 500 firms, with reductions in lost days ranging from 40% to 90%, many with improved productivity.

The IMPACC program consists of up to four parts:

1. Ergonomic Work Risk Analysis: a comprehensive analysis of each job to identify work-injury risks and corrective recommendations to address these risks.
2. Management Training: Aggressive, expert education on cumulative trauma disorders of the neck-arm and low back and on what causes injuries, claims and costs. Managers are taught strategies for reducing these injuries, claims and costs.
3. Employee Motivation Training: The goal of employee training is to motivate workers to use their bodies properly on the job and to take care of their working, aging body.
4. Ergonomics Team Training: An in-house team receives advanced training so that they may continue the effort to evaluate on-going ergonomic risks, develop prevention tactics, and assure the long-term success of the prevention program.

The following table describes the latest outcomes for a hydraulics manufacturing company utilizing the IMPACC program in 2000:
	1999	2000 IMPACC PROGRAM PRESENTED	2001
Claims	47	89	64
Lost time claims	6	8	9
Lost days	142	93	71	50% reduction
Lost days/claim	23.7	11.6	7.9	67% reduction
Restricted duty claims	7	10	2	71% reduction
Restricted duty days	903	120	16	98% reduction
Restricted duty days/claim	129	12	8	94% reduction

*statistics from IMPACCUSA.com

Note that claims increased after the program (which we want) due to early reporting and that costly restricted duty days and restricted duty days per claim decreased significantly.

CIS Onsite is an IMPACC Program provider whose client companies include Pepperidge Farm and General Mills. Want to learn more about how IMPACC can help your company? Visit the IMPACC section of our website or call toll-free (866) 298-1312

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Think Safe!

Properly Setting Up Your Workstation

Since we spend so much time using our PCs, it is important to know that a computer work station which is not correctly set up can increase the amount of fatigue, aches and pains that an office worker will feel at the end of a work day. The good news, however, is that this problem can be minimized if your work station is customized to fit your own needs. Here's a checklist to help reduce that unnecessary stress many of us put on ourselves everyday:

Keep the monitor directly in front of you. The monitor should be 18 to 22 inches from the employee's forehead and the top of the screen should be at eye level.

Keyboard should be just below elbow height and the wrist should be in a neutral position during activity.

The mouse should be positioned so that the shoulder is in a relaxed position, not stretched out from the body.

Place work documents on a copy holder attached to the side of the monitor or on a copy stand between the keyboard and the monitor.

Adjust your seat so that the knees are slightly below the hips with the feet resting comfortably on the floor or foot stool, Sit all the way back in the chair so that the chair back can be adjusted to support the low back.

If armrests are used, adjust the height by resting arms at side with elbows bent at a 90° angle. The armrest should be positioned directly under the elbow/forearm.

If possible, the seat pan should tilt forward. If not, consider obtaining a postural wedge for this chair.

Sit an inch taller. Avoid forward head posture by making sure your ears are in line with your shoulders. It takes a huge load of stress of your body.

CIS Onsite is an IMPACC Program provider whose client companies include Pepperidge Farm and General Mills. Want to learn more about how IMPACC can help your company? Visit the IMPACC section of our website or call toll-free (866) 298-1312