In this new series of articles, we’ll explore Industrial Athlete programs and how they can add value to your operations: a better work experience for your people and a better safety record at your worksite.
“If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
— Bill Bowerman, Nike co-founder
Your employees use their physical abilities to perform jobs that require skill, strength, flexibility, coordination, and endurance—just like an athlete.
Our position is that we should care for industrial athletes just as comprehensively and intensely as sports teams care for their competitive athletes. After all, the human performance of your workforce ultimately determines your company’s success or failure in the greatest competition of them all — the marketplace.
Beyond just making smart business sense, industrial athlete programs are also great for your people. These programs can give your people a better work experience and a higher quality of life.
Good for business, great for people. This sounds great and while the industrial athlete concept is simple, executing an industrial athlete program isn’t always easy or intuitive. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering industrial athlete programs and how you can implement one at your worksite that is successful and sustainable.
1. The Case For an Industrial Athlete Program
We’ll start by making the case for industrial athlete programs. Not only are they great for your people, they are good for your business, and there is an abundance of research and case studies to back it up.
2. Why Ergonomics and Industrial Athlete Programs Belong Together
All of the evidence points to multiple causative risk factors leading to the development of musculoskeletal imbalances that lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Only by combining ergonomics and industrial athlete programs will you get a full range of controls to prevent MSDs.
3. A Step-by-Step Guide to Establishing an Industrial Athlete Program
We’ll walk you step-by-step through establishing an industrial athlete program at your worksite. This part is simple but not easy.
4. How to Keep Your Industrial Athlete Program Compliant
Make sure that your industrial athlete program is compliant by understanding the rules and regulations and implementing a process that is reliably compliant.
5. Industrial Athlete Programs: People, Process, and Technology
Like most other business processes, you’ll need the right combination of people, process, and technology to make it happen. In this article, we’ll lay the foundation for making these decisions and encourage you to get started.
Sign up for updates to make sure you don’t miss out!
Sign up for the Prevention Weekly newsletter to make sure you get all of the articles in the series and stay up to speed on workplace ergonomics every week.
