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Safety programs are improving Commonwealth working conditions By Ellen P. James
Shirley Thomas is associate director of the new Workplace Environment and Safety Programs initiative of the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute. Dick Ackley—University Photo/Graphics	In 1998, 85,000 Pennsylvanians were injured on the job. For some, their workplace injuries proved to be fatal. To help organizations improve working conditions, Penn State has launched a new Workplace Environment and Safety Programs initiative.   The new initiative provides Pennsylvania businesses and industries with public workshops, on-site training, education and consulting to help create a workplace that meets the national standards for design and safety.   “It is clear that Pennsylvania has a need for such programs,” Shirley Thomas, associate director of Workplace Environment and Safety Programs, said. “There were 85,000 reported injuries last year across the Commonwealth, however this is a decrease from the previous year. More should be done to actively reduce the number of injuries in the workplace. One facet of Penn State’s courses is working to raise employee awareness of job safety, in addition to creating a safer workplace.”   The courses deal with such important workplace issues as safe handling of hazardous materials, training for managers and supervisors for safety compliance, ergonomics in the workplace, workplace violence and stress, and how to prepare for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections.   “All of these courses are at the forefront of workplace safety,” Thomas said.   It is apparent by the rising reports of cumulative trauma disorders, accompanied by loss of productivity and rising company costs, that workers’ health can be affected by poorly designed work areas.   “Ergonomics is the science of adapting the workplace to accommodate the physical restraints of the worker,” she said. “Most MSDs [musculoskeletal disorders] happen over time, and workers often don’t report something is wrong until they experience severe pain. Early detection is the key to successfully combating MSDs.”   Other Workplace Environment and Safety Programs workshops include courses on hazardous waste operations and emergency response and confined space and machine guarding. All of the workplace safety courses offered by Penn State will help Commonwealth businesses meet OSHA regulations, reduce employee injuries, manage risk and improve the company’s bottom line.   “Overall, businesses and industries can improve their bottom line by being proactive when it comes to compliance with OSHA regulations,” Thomas added.   She is bringing her experience and knowledge on workplace safety to Penn State and the Commonwealth job community from several industry jobs, where she worked as a safety, health and environment manager and as a safety engineer.   “I am really excited to have the opportunity to initiate a new program that will be a real benefit to industry. I am delighted to be at Penn State. This University is highly regarded for its outreach work across Pennsylvania and worldwide,” she said.   The Workplace Environment and Safety Programs initiative is sponsored by the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute, directed by Don Zettlemoyer. Workplace ergonomics   Ergonomics, the science of adapting the work environment to the needs of workers, has been around for a long time, according to Shirley Thomas, associate director of Penn State’s Workplace Environment and Safety Programs, but ergonomics has recently been catapulted into the forefront of businesses’ and industries’ concerns by the new ergonomic standards proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).   As workdays grow longer, and the use of computers and machines are engrained into the lives of the workforce, ergonomics becomes a very important issue, as this information from the U.S. Department of Labor illustrates: Number of days an employee misses because of carpal tunnel syndrome (often caused by years of repetitive strain typing on a keyboard): 23 days. Percent of all lost workday tendonitis (tennis elbow) cases suffered by women: 62 percent. Number of injuries involving lost workdays per year due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as injuries sustained from overexertion or repetitive motion: 600,000. Number of U.S. workers who annually suffer MSDs: 1.8 million. Average cost for workers’ compensation due to MSDs: $15 billion to $20 billion. Average cost for fixing a workstation to comply with OSHA standards: $150 per year.
© 2002 Outreach Communications,   Outreach & Cooperative Extension,   The Pennsylvania State University phone: (814) 865-8108,   fax: (814) 863-2765,   e-mail: outreachnews@outreach.psu.edu