FAQ

Yes, as of July 1, 2008, the State of Rhode Island adopted legislation regulating safe patient handling in hospitals and nursing homes titled the “Safe Patient Handling Act of 2006”. (http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText06/SenateText06/S2760A.pdf). The responsibility of enforcement lies with the Rhode Island Department of Health Facilities Management. The Beacon Mutual can assist your facility with the key components of the act by helping to develop written policies on the safe movement of patients, i.e. patient assessment, equipment and patient matrix, develop and maintain a safe patient handling committee and to provide training and education to the staff using our Caregiver Training Program.
For additional information on safe patient handling, please visit CDC/NIOSH – Safe Patient Movement : http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2009-127/download.html OSHA Ergonomic Guidelines for Nursing Homes http://www.osha.gov/ergonomics/guidelines/nursinghome/final_nh_guidelines.html American Nurses Association – Handle with Care Campaign

NO. Beacon Mutual provides all of its ergonomic services (see ergonomic services for a complete list of services) free to all current policyholders.

If your company has been assigned a loss prevention representative already, please feel free to contact your representative directly to request any ergonomic or other loss prevention service. If you are a new policy holder or have not previously been assigned a loss prevention representative please contact Michael Whittaker, Loss Prevention Supervisor at (401-825-2730 ) or mwhittaker@beaconmutual.com or David Cookson, Loss Prevention Supervisor at (401-825-2728) or dcookson@beaconbmutual.com

NO. Beacon Mutual provides training to any size company regardless of the number of employees. If your company is looking to train a large number of employees, our trainers may ask your company to commit up to 20-25 employees per session. Larger class sizes allow for more interaction between the trainers and attendees while reducing operational down time while the employees are participating in the training

NO. There is currently no workplace standard or regulation that restricts or limits the maximum amount of weight an individual employee can lift. In 1991, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) developed a lifting equation in an attempt to assist employers with reducing the risk of lifting-related musculoskeletal injuries. For more information about the NIOSH lifting equation please use the following link to the OSHA website: http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_vii/otm_vii_1.html

A considerable amount of research has been done on the topics of back belts effectiveness by The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services. NIOSH is the federal Institute (agency) responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injuries and illnesses.
NIOSH Back Belt Summary: “After a review of the scientific literature, NIOSH has concluded that, because of limitations of the studies that have analyzed workplace use of back belts, the results cannot be used to either support or refute the effectiveness of back belts in injury reduction. Although back belts are being bought and sold under the premise that they reduce the risk of back injury, there is insufficient scientific evidence that they actually deliver what is promised.
The Institute, therefore, does not recommend the use of back belts to prevent injuries among workers who have never been injured.* If you or your workers are wearing back belts as protective equipment against back injury, you should be aware of the lack of scientific evidence supporting their use” For additional information please visit the following link : http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/94-127/

Traditional safety programs typically address acute injury events such as slips and falls, lacerations or chemical exposures. The process of ergonomics identifies and reduces risks associated with repetitive stress and over exertion. Common examples of ergonomic risk factors are repetitive, forceful, or prolonged exertions of the hands; frequent or heavy lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying of heavy objects; and prolonged awkward postures. Jobs or working conditions presenting multiple risk factors will have a higher probability of causing a musculoskeletal problem. The level of risk depends on the intensity, frequency, and duration of the exposure to these conditions and the individuals' capacity to meet the force of other job demands that might be involved. Getting involved with a Beacon Mutual ergonomic specialist will help to indentify your company’s ergonomic risks and how to best reduce or eliminate those risks by implementing engineering and or administrative controls.

All loss prevention service visits including ergonomics consultations, analysis and training are followed up with a written report detailing the nature and results of the visit along with any supporting research, resources and suggestions for corrective action

Yes, the Beacon Mutual can “unbundle” their loss prevention and ergonomic services to non-policyholders for a contract fee. For more information about our very competitively priced for fee loss prevention services including ergonomic consultation, analysis and training please contact Michael Whittaker, Loss Prevention Supervisor at (401-825-2730 ) or mwhittaker@beaconmutual.com

No. OSHA does not currently have a 1910 standard for Ergonomics. Ergonomic related issues for most industries are generally cited under the General Duty Clause. OSHA has developed some industry specific guidelines as an outreach training tool to aid in the reduction and prevention of workplace ergonomic injuries. These voluntary guidelines are a major part of OSHA's new four-pronged approach to ergonomics. The voluntary guidelines currently in place are: Poultry Processing Industry, Shipyard Industry, Retail Grocery Industry, Nursing Home Industry, and the Meatpacking Industry. For more information on this OSHA’s ergonomic guidelines please use this link: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ergonomics/guidelines.html

The simple answer is No, not all workstations need or can accommodate a keyboard tray. Workers who perform certain data entry tasks or workers who may be very tall or short may benefit from the installation and use of an adjustable keyboard tray. Before any ergonomic solution is suggested or implemented, it is important to start with a comprehensive ergonomic analysis. An ergonomic analysis will identify the individual risk factors or stressors and how to best reduce a workers exposure through engineering or administrative controls. Just adding a tray may not be the best solution.

The simple answer is Yes. Vibration is considered a secondary ergonomic risk factor and has been associated with an increased risk of developing a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) or disorders such as Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). Common sources of vibration come from machines, i.e. punch presses, hand tools,hammers and long periods of driving due to road vibration to both the back and hands. Studies have shown that occupations such as forestry workers, stone drillers, stone cutters or carvers, shipyard workers, and long haul truck drivers are at high risk for developing MSD or HAVS symptoms

Yes, as of July 1, 2008, the State of Rhode Island adopted legislation regulating safe patient handling in hospitals and nursing homes titled the “Safe Patient Handling Act of 2006”. (http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText06/SenateText06/S2760A.pdf). The responsibility of enforcement lies with the Rhode Island Department of Health Facilities Management. The Beacon Mutual can assist your facility with the key components of the act by helping to develop written policies on the safe movement of patients, i.e. patient assessment, equipment and patient matrix, develop and maintain a safe patient handling committee and to provide training and education to the staff using our Caregiver Training Program.
For additional information on safe patient handling, please visit CDC/NIOSH – Safe Patient Movement : http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2009-127/download.html OSHA Ergonomic Guidelines for Nursing Homes http://www.osha.gov/ergonomics/guidelines/nursinghome/final_nh_guidelines.html American Nurses Association – Handle with Care Campaign