ssm aging worker - safety services manitoba · 20150120 1 ergonomics & ability, optimized. inc....

2015-‐01-‐20

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Ergonomics & Ability, Optimized.

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Safety Considera4ons for the Aging Worker


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Objec4ves •  Understand our aging workforce •  Recognize age-‐related changes •  Iden4fy age-‐related safety risks •  Learn how to implement a proac4ve safety program with the older worker in mind

•  Iden4fy what the worker and the employer can do to reduce injuries, hire safe workers and create an Age-‐Accep4ng culture at work


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Who are the aging workers?

•  55 and older (Department of HR and skills Development)

•  2011 the first of the baby boomers turned 65 (1946-‐64)

•  WCB categories 45-‐54 and 55+

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Aging Workforce •  45-‐54 represent largest segment of the MB workforce at 22.8% (2013)

•  55+ account for 20% (Same as 35-‐44 year olds) (2013)

•  45+ now account for 42.8% of our workforce


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Older Worker Survey 2008 (50-‐75 years)

•  People are re4ring later •  The degree to which he or she is engaged in the work they are doing

•  How they are perceived by their employers. •  Not all Canadians will be financially able to re4re from work, even if they desire to do so.


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Injuries and the Aging Worker

•  45-‐54 and 55+ workers do have fewer reported loss 4me injuries than younger workers

•  55+ workers are increasing in the distribu4on of the workforce and they are also experiencing an increase in injuries.

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•  Older workers generally take longer to recover form their injuries

•  experience more recurrences •  suffer dispropor4onal number of fatali4es and injuries with permanent impairment

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Injuries and the Aging Worker


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Does Age Make a Difference?

•  Due to demographics, economics and a worker shortage, more older workers will be in the workforce. This will require workplaces to recognize the diversity of their workforce.

•  There is no single paaern of change with age. The effects are varied and greatly individualized.

•  An older worker should not be stereotyped.

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What happens to us as we age? •  Physical changes •  Cogni4ve changes •  Psychological changes


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Signs of Aging •  People reach full physical maturity or

development at around the age of 25 years.

•  Then after a period of relative stability, our bodies begin to show signs of aging.

•  Most of these changes are first noticed at ages 40 or 50, but changes can occur (or start) as early as 20 or 25.

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Maximum muscular strength •  In general, people lose 15 to 20% of

their strength from the ages of 20 to 60. •  Older employees may be able to

perform the same tasks as a younger worker, but they may be working closer to their maximum level.

•  Highly repetitive motions -- doing the same thing, over and over again -- can cause physical problems at any age.


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Maximum muscular strength •  Finger and grip strength

decrease •  Hand movement, speed and

control decrease •  Force control decreases


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Strength Considera/ons

•  Low back strength and capacity can decrease with age.

•  Consider changing tasks so workers lieing less weight, lieing less frequently

•  Using lieing equipment such as straps, mechanical assists can reduce the risk of injury.

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•  For below knee lieing tasks, raising materials to hip height for lieing

•  Lieing and carrying tasks should be designed to meet the capabili4es of 90% of all workers. This would account for any age-‐related decreases in strength.


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•  Use gloves or grip tape to improve grip on tools

•  D-‐shaped handles or power grip handles on tools can decrease gripping efforts of the hands and improve postures of the back and arms.

•  Swivel wheels on carts, lightweight tools


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Sta/c Posture Considera/ons

•  Decreases in stamina due to sta4c postures is associated with age.

•  The decreases can vary for many reasons including how the task is performed, the postures involved and the amount of forceful exer4ons

•  In standing use foot rail or foot support to change posi4on and reduce cumula4ve strain to reduce muscle fa4gue

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Standing Considera/ons

•  Signg and standing tolerance can decrease with age.

•  Purchasing an ergonomic chair and height adjustable table may reduce strain on the body.

•  Sit-‐stand worksta4ons and chairs •  Offering movement breaks


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Vibra/on •  Muscle endurance may decrease and suscep4bility to vibra4on may increase with age.

•  The changes can vary for many reasons including the length of 4me performing the task, the postures involved and environmental condi4ons.


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Vibra/on Considera/ons

•  Educa4on on back care and vibra4on syndromes

•  An4-‐vibra4on gloves •  An4-‐vibra4on grip tape •  Vibra4on dampening tools •  Stretching and movement breaks

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Flexibility §  As we age, the body loses some 'range of mo4on' and flexibility. §  People may be used to certain range of movements at one task or worksta4on.

§  Being less flexible or able to reach could cause problems in some unpredictable situa4ons that require unusual movements.


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Flexibility Considera/ons

•  Adjust heights of worksta4ons as older workers working below knees and above shoulder heights have increased risk of injury

•  Redesign work area to reduce twis4ng and neck rota4on

•  Equipment and furniture should be designed to meet a range of individual’s body sizes and reach capabili4es.


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Regulation of posture and balance •  May find it harder to maintain good posture and

balance. •  Accidents that happen because someone loses

their balance do happen more often with age.

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Balance Considerations •  Unexpected bumps or shocks may cause a more

serious problem than with a younger worker.

•  Provide Slips, Trips, and Falls Education

•  Use clear signage for uneven surfaces or changes in flooring

•  Measure balance demands of tasks to determine risks


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Sleep Regulation •  Older workers may not regulate sleep as well as

they used to. Can be disrupted by changing work hours or by light and noise.

•  The impact on employees is especially a concern for night shift workers.

•  They might need more recovery time between shifts or extended workdays.


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Thermoregulation (Body Temperature)

•  Less able to maintain internal temperatures as well as less able to adjust to changes in external temperature or due to physical ac4vity.

•  If they are doing hard manual labour, they may get overheated more easily.

•  May be more suscep4ble to hypothermia even when humidity, air velocity and acclima4za4on is taken into account.

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Thermoregulation Considerations •  Safety gloves help to keep the moisture off the hands, provide good grip on objects and allows workers to keep working without having to take more warm up breaks.

•  May need thermal footwear •  Bandana with cooling substance helps keep sweat out of eyes and keeps worker cool

•  Dress in layers


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Vision Changes

•  The aging worker cannot see or read from certain distances as well as they used to.

•  Peripheral visual field (how well you can see in the areas to the side of you, that you're not directly looking at)

•  Visual acuity (how exact, clear, and "unfuzzy" things appear)


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Vision Changes •  Depth perception (how far away things seem),

and resistance to glare, and light transmission.

•  can't see as well when they're reading something when text size is small, or when there is poor contrast between the text and the background.

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Vision Considera/ons Prevent computer related eye strain and neck pain: -‐Font size at least 12pt, viewing distance and contrast changes may improve visibility at computer. -‐Monitor is not more than 20 degrees below line of sight (unless wearing bifocals) -‐monitor is comfortable distance away from employee


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Vision Considera/ons

•  Poor ligh4ng can result in trip hazards. Brighter ligh4ng may help.

•  Peripheral vision may decrease along with neck flexibility so may also reduce worker’s ability to see around blind spots when driving.

•  Reduced field of vision can lead to driving hazards.

•  Develop blind spot maps and s4ckers


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Auditory (Hearing) •  We may not be able to hear as well at higher frequencies (high pitch sounds). •  Most often, this change is noticed as the

inability to listen to a particular voice or sound in a noisy environment.

•  As well, people who work with a lot of

background or noise may have difficulty hearing verbal instructions.

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Noise Considera/ons

•  Hearing ability decreases with age in the high frequency sound range. Sound level reduc4on and decreased sound reverbera4on may improve hearing.

•  Acous4c panels between worksta4ons •  Ensuring safety alarms are lower frequency •  easier use of PPE may improve compliance with hearing conserva4on programs.(Custom calibrated hearing protec4on)


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Cardiovascular Changes §  Increased collagen around the heart muscle fibers and valves causes them to thicken and not work as efficiently.

§  Heart may increase in size and mass as it accumulates faay deposits while arteries lose elas4city and develop s4ff walls causing heart to pump harder.


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Respiratory Changes •  Lungs and chest wall do not

expand as well as when young

•  Exchange of carbon dioxide

and oxygen is not as efficient

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Physical Exer/on Considera/ons

•  An individual’s maximum cardiovascular endurance level decreases with age; however, an individual’s sub-‐maximum effort level does not.

•  If the task does not overly fa4gue a worker, then age should not be a concern.

•  An individual’s fitness level will be more of a factor.


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Cognitive Changes •  It may take longer to learn new skills. §  Tasks that depend on short-‐term memory usually take longer.

§  Use experience and exper4se when working and may find it hard to work with complex or confusing s4muli.


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Cogni/ve Changes

§  They might find it hard to do tasks in which they have to do (or think) a lot of different things quickly or at one 4me.

§  They may be less able to focus aaen4on only on informa4on relevant to the task at hand, especially in "new" situa4ons

§  Older worker not as quick to accept new technology

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Cogni/ve Considera/ons

•  Provide sufficient 4me to learn new tasks •  Provide 1:1 training with new technology •  Break down tasks to avoid mul4tasking errors •  Have the older workers teach younger workers from their range experience

•  Have older worker give input on procedures and safe work prac4ces

•  Have older workers lead group stretching


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Mental Health

More Anxiety and Depression •  Stress of approaching re4rement •  Reduc4on in capabili4es


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Mental Health Considera/ons

•  Create an Age-‐Accep4ng Workplace Culture

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Create an Age-‐Accep/ng Workplace Culture

Provide workshops on: •  Effects of Aging and Associated Wisdom •  Preparing for Re4rement •  Managing Stress and Work and Home •  Nutri4on and Healthy Living


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Create an Age-‐Accep/ng Workplace Culture

Offer Health and Wellness Resources: •  Gym membership discounts •  Company fitness ini4a4ves •  Nutri4on Resources •  Voluntary Health and Fitness Tes4ng


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Create an Age-‐ Accep/ng Workplace Culture

Create Mentorship Program •  Older workers share experience and knowledge with younger workers

•  Allow exi4ng transi4ons to occur slowly when worker is re4ring.

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•  Highlight a older worker each month to share their accomplishments and history with company

•  Provide recogni4on for years of service



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•  Expand your hiring pool to Older Workers •  Increase aarac4on to older workers by applying for Healthy Workplace Awards

•  Hire older workers knowing the experience and knowledge they bring



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What else can the Employer Do? •  Conduct a risk assessment of problem jobs

•  Include a discomfort survey of all workers with your ergonomic risk assessment.

•  Focus on engineering solu4ons and fixes at the source of the problem.

•  Provide educa4on about back care and other safe prac4ces

•  Know the jobs and ensure workers are good match for those jobs

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Know the jobs Conduct Job Demands Analysis -‐make job descrip4ons more transparent and include strength, posi4onal and cogni4ve demands -‐use to accommodate Older Workers and injured workers


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Assess the Risks •  Use the symptom surveys to determine common worker complaints

•  Iden4fy tasks that relate to the symptoms •  Conduct Ergonomic Analysis •  Start with Engineering solu4ons(reduce risk) •  Inves4gate Administra4ve solu4ons (reducing worker exposure to risks)

•  Promote behavioral solu4ons (reduce the effects of the risk factors)


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Provide Educa4on Customized Manual Material Handling •  Teach human factors and ergonomics related to the older worker’s job tasks.

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Personal Protec4ve Equipment Explore your PPE op4ons •  Customized hearing protec4on •  knee pads with shin guards •  An4-‐vibra4on tools and accessories •  Gloves for cold and fine dexterity work


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Ability Tes4ng Develop Fit for Duty Tes4ng •  Design Post Offer Employment Tes4ng for new employees to ensure new they are a good match to the job

•  Use POET to to create Fit for Duty Test to ensure current employees are s4ll a safe match to the job.


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Ability Tes4ng •  Involve current workers, supervisors, union in the crea4on of the tes4ng

•  Consult lawyer (labour laws, human rights) •  Develop policies and procedures about how tes4ng is conducted, who is tested, when they are tested and what criteria is used to determine pass/fail.

•  Iden4fy methods of accommoda4on

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Ability Tes4ng •  Regular tes4ng mo4vates employees to stay condi4oned for the work and ensures that they are safe to do the work.


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What can the Older Worker do?

•  Live a healthy work-‐life balance §  Physical ac4vity outside of work will help keep workers condi4oned.

§  Physical ac4vity should include: Aerobic ac4vity: walking, running, biking Resistance/Strength Training: lieing weights, •  Cardio training •  Eat well


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What can the Older Worker do? •  Warm up before and during work tasks to

get joints and muscles ready for the work •  Warming up increases heart rate, body

temperature and blood supply to the working muscles.

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What can the Older Worker do? §  Stretching §  Improves your flexibility and decreases muscle s4ffness, soreness and the poten4al for injury


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What can the Older Worker do? •  Maintain and increase working memory,

ability to multitask and problem solve with computer based cognitive training or paper activities and games

•  Luminosity, Brain Gym, Brain Aerobics, Sudoku, Crosswords,


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Growing old isn’t so bad when you consider the alterna4ve…

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THANK YOU!

QUESTIONS?

ssm aging worker - safety services manitoba · 20150120 1 ergonomics & ability, optimized. inc....

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