Flying high: thanks to Boeing's job modification initiative, the company now enjoys a tenfold return on its injury reduction investments. It's also enjoying big boosts in productivity and employee-employer relations

Risk & Insurance, May, 2004 by Dan McCue

Like other manufacturing companies that came of age in the middle of the last century, the Boeing Corp. didn't consider human factors when designing its plants in the Pacific Northwest. The emphasis, quite understandably for the times, was on the assembly process.

But in recent years, as workers' compensation costs have soared, the aircraft and aerospace manufacturer has become a leader in ergonomic initiatives. As a result of its job modification and return-to-work programs, Boeing has greatly reduced both its comp costs and lost workdays on the assembly line, says Michael D. Greenwood, job site modification manager for the Seattle-based company.

"We feel we're still clearly on the reactive side of the house. That's because more than half of our ergonomic initiatives stem from workplace injuries. But we've also realized unqualified success in resolving the problems we've tackled so far," he told a recent gathering of the National Ergonomic Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas.

Boeing developed its job modification program in partnership with the International Association of Machinists, the labor union representing its assembly line personnel. Since the program's inception in 2000, the company has completed more than 800 workplace modifications at an average cost of $750 per modification. At the same time, Boeing estimates that it has reduced its workers' comp claim costs by as much as 10 times the average expense in each ease, Greenwood says.

Beyond the savings, the overall goal of the job modification program is to keep Boeing's assembly line workers in the company fold mad in the positions they held at the time of their injuries.

Greenwood says modifications fall into three areas:

* Site adjustments: These include changing the layout of the work area so that the assembler doesn't have to make painful twists and turns while performing a work task, altering repetitions in work and installing adjustable work benches, desks and shelves.

* Job restructuring: Changing the employee's work hours, adding rest periods to their daily schedule, having them trade jobs with other workers or limiting or modifying their duties.

* Ergonomic tools: Having the employee use modified hand tools, equipment or appliances designed with ergonomics in mind.

If the employee can't return to his former position even with these modifications, the collective bargaining agreement with the IAM requires Boeing to first try to relocate the employee in another union position. If that can't be done, the company can then try to return the employee to work in a non-union job.

"The goal of this process is to keep our people working," Greenwood says. "The steps we take to get there are intended to expedite the injured or ill employee's return to work and also to minimize their lost work time when they do return."

Under the Boeing program, an injured employee is assigned a vocational rehabilitation counselor. The counselor is the only Boeing employee, other than the patient, who is authorized to speak with the attending physician about the case. Once the counselor receives an assessment of the worker's recovery and physical limitations, a meeting is held with the employee, his supervisor and human resources personnel. "Once we get to that stage, so long as everyone comes to the table, a modification takes less than 30 days to get done," Greenwood says.

All job modifications at Boeing facilities are entered into a return-to-work database. Individual entries detail the site, the services provided and whether may further changes are warranted. Through the database, corporate managers can track all open cases and also refer to completed modifications as needed.

"To dump the equipment in the area and walk away isn't going to help anybody," says Greenwood. "Follow-up is very important."

Also important--in fact, vitally so, Greenwood says--is taking care in selecting suppliers for the modifications. "We expect our suppliers to understand our business and to understand disability," he says. "After all, this is about more than supplying a piece of equipment. The employee may have been off work a long time, and this might be his only shot at getting back to work.

"We also look for suppliers who are flexible to change," Greenwood continued. "One of primary questions is, 'If our needs change, or those of our injured employee, will you take this piece of equipment back?'"

The final step in selecting a vendor is doing a cost-vs.-delivery analysis. "Our philosophy is, what good does it do anybody to save $50, but not have the equipment we need arrive for five weeks?" Greenwood says. "A long lead time in getting equipment will only slow the process of getting the worker back on the job."

Greenwood believes Boeing derives a host of benefits from this comprehensive approach to job modification after an injury. It allows the worker to remain on the job or return to work as quickly as possible. It also allows the company to utilize workers' transferable job skills when appropriate. In addition, it promotes what Greenwood described as "cost avoidance opportunities," helping the company reduce lost time by employees and medical expenses.