Mass producing ergonomics: two of the world's largest automakers are also two of the biggest success stories when it comes to ergonomics and worker safety

Risk & Insurance, Oct 15, 2008 by Joshua Clifton

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Often the work safety argument is couched as the dichotomy between people and technology, with one always being more important than the other in producing results. But as the examples of Ford and Honda demonstrate, the answer is in the middle. You need both to succeed.

Sometimes, the best health and safety innovations come from your own employees. That's what management from Honda of America Manufacturing Inc.'s facility in Anna, Ohio learned when a group of its employees created a solution to reduce pushing and pulling risk hazards.

The company was recently awarded the 2008 Ergo Cup for engineering. The award, which is sponsored by the Ergonomics Center of North Carolina, celebrates problem solving efforts conducted by in-house engineers and ergonomists.

Brent Rankin, engineering coordinator at the plant, says the division was presented with the challenge of reducing push-pull forces found in carts that are used for transporting parts from the materials service department to the assembly line. Employees transport between 1,100 and 2,200 pounds of materials on these carts. The force used to get the carts moving placed employees at a significant risk of back injuries, he says.

"I think many industries have this problem," Rankin says. "We had looked at a variety of wheels and we thought that we had found the best caster we could use. However, we still had to overcome the initial inertia. Once you got the cart moving, it would roll fine."

Rankin says the engineering and ergonomics team examined a variety of approaches, including hydraulics and mechanical levers, to get the cart moving. However, the group settled on a different method.

"The cleanest and safest way we found to overcome the initial inertia was with a small electrical motor that we made in-house," he says.

The solution was comprised of three components--a drive motor unit, a small control box that was bolted to the cart and a switch to activate the motor.

"The motor is energized just long enough to get the cart up to speed," Rankin says. "Once that is done, the motor disengages and the cart becomes freewheeling. It takes very little power to get it moving."

The team designed the prototype in-house, did the testing and all of the development. The motors are now produced outside the facility.

Rankin says teamwork was critical to reaching the final solution to the problem.

"The team was just not engineers," he says. "We had a group of associates on the line that took interest and wanted to solve the problem. We got together as a group and came up with a lot of different ideas. It is an ongoing process. This is one way our associates are very engaged in the ergonomics process."

Jose Banaag, staff engineer and head ergonomist with Honda's safety and health services department, says the teamwork approach is essential to the company's overall philosophy on ergonomics.

"Ergonomics is nothing new at Honda," he says. "However, in the 1980s we were reactive. We saw problems and would try to find counter measures. We discovered that we couldn't keep up and decided to make it an ergo culture. There is not enough ergo expertise in the world to solve all the problems. We must take a multi-pronged approach, be proactive and involve all employees in the process."

The company has even created its own internal ergonomic awards program. Employees are asked to submit ideas and a group of judges selects the winning teams, which represent Honda at the Ergo Cup competition.

"We thought this would be a great opportunity to get associates involved," Banaag says. "It creates a forum where employees can generate ideas."

"INDUSTRIAL ATHLETES"

Training is one of the core components of any health and safety program. However, it is particularly important to focus on new employees to ensure they start off on the right foot and are equipped with the knowledge to stay safe on the job.

For its focus on these workers, Honda of America Manufacturing's facility in East Liberty, Ohio was recently awarded with the 2008 Ergo Cup for training and education.

Anthony Blackburn, a member of the production staff safety group at the facility, says Honda had some safety concerns about its training program for new hires and recently transferred workers.

"We looked at the current orientation program and it was only five days with no work hardening and minimal job simulation," he says. "We wanted to design a program that would build 'industrial athletes.'"

The safety group worked with Honda's in-house wellness center and medical personnel to put together a team to address the issue. The team decided to add an additional five days to the orientation program, which included a variety of wellness activities, equipment training methods and class training exercises.

"It is designed to help these workers slowly acclimate to the line," Blackburn says.

The first day of the orientation program consists of classroom training. In addition, new employees are evaluated in several areas, including hand-eye coordination, physical condition, etc. Blackburn says the evaluation helps the company identify a starting point of where to place the employee on the line.