Injuries and Illness

Find Out How One Manufacturer Is Winning the War Against CTDs

Good programs, effective systems, and strong leadership are among the elements you need to create a safer workplace and prevent CTDS. That’s been the experience at Frito-Lay, where reducing CTD risks has been a long-time priority.

At Frito-Lay, a high rate of soft tissue illness about a dozen years ago led to a corporatewide effort to reduce hazards.

BLR spoke to safety coordinator Pat Zimmer at Frito-Lay’s Kirkwood, New York, plant, who told us about the company’s ergonomics program.

One of the most effective components of the program at the Kirkwood plant, according to Zimmer, is an ergonomics team of about 25 employees. They receive special training and assist with a variety of tasks, from helping with workstation setup to analyzing discomfort and recommending ergonomic fixes.

Other features of the program:


  • Preshift stretching helps workers warm up and reduces the changes of strains and sprains. Aided by posters showing proper movements, members of the ergonomics and safety committees lead the brief stretching sessions. The focus is on the upper body, back, and legs.

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  • An early intervention program prevents small ergonomic concerns from turning into painful, costly cases. A physical therapist and an occupational therapist serve the plant part-time, and employees can request their services.
  • The plant’s 30-60-90 evaluations are also highly effective. At each of those new employee milestones, a trainer reviews the employee’s work habits with an eye for ergonomics and other functional aspects of the job. Results are reviewed during a closed-door session with the employee, the trainer, and the manager.
  • A review of all new equipment for ergonomic risks by in-house engineers and maintenance personnel is another important part of the program. As needed, they will change heights, adjust wheels, alter handles, or improve adjustability before new equipment is installed on the floor.

Zimmer recommends that any employer seeking to improve manufacturing ergonomics should get rank and file employees involved. "It makes a huge difference when employees take ownership of the program rather than me or a manger. When they own it, they will run with it."


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E-Z Training at a Phenomenal Price

To help train employees in a broad range of safety and health topics, including ergonomics, savvy safety professionals have for years relied on the BLR 7-Minute Safety Trainer. This essential training resource allows you to provide concise, memorable training easily and effectively in just a few minutes. Materials are ready-to-use, and each session supplies a detailed trainer’s outline as well as a handout, quiz, and quiz answers to get your points across quickly—and cost-effectively.

All told, this "trainer’s bible" contains 50 prewritten meetings covering almost every aspect of safety you’d want or need to train on, in a format designed to be taught in as little as 7 minutes. Major topics include:

  • Confined spaces
  • Electrical safety
  • Fire safety and emergency response
  • HazCom
  • Machine guarding and lockout/tagout
  • Material handling
  • PPE use and care
  • Housekeeping/slips, trips, and falls
  • and dozens more

Just make as many copies as you need of the included handouts and quizzes, and you’re ready to train.

Equally important is that the program ships new meetings every quarter to respond to new and changed regulations. This service is included in the program price, which averages just over $1 a working day. In fact, this is one of BLR’s most popular safety programs.

If you’d like to personally evaluate 7-Minute Safety Trainer and see how it can build safety awareness, we’ll be happy to send it to you for 30 days on a no-cost, no-obligation trial basis. Just let us know, and we’ll arrange it.

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