The POWER Training is the “catalyst for change” within any organization.
By bringing management and employees together with the unarguable common goal of “Preventing Painful, Costly Injuries,” incredible progress is made at an affordable price.
The POWER Program and process achieves the high level of management commitment and employee buy-in, both of which are key elements necessary for success. Specialists engage every employee and leader in a continuously improving, positive and safe work environment, where employee postures and behaviors are improved and changed, each and every day.
The results the POWER process brings “to life” in your organization are sustainable because change is built upon a solid foundation, composed of personal responsibility, team and peer-to-peer accountability, and improved positive communications by all. Everyone (from new hires to aging workers), is able to work and thrive in a healthy, prevention-based atmosphere, a true Culture of Prevention.
In today’s workforce, employees are increasingly suffering from fatigue, discomfort and pain. Postural efficiency is essential when it comes to how your employees use their bodies, at work and at home. Inefficient postures and poor biomechanics result in:
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Increased exposure MSDs, injuries, and illnesses,
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Lost time days (DART),
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Poor morale and reduced productivity,
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Poor cultural climates,
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Enormous monetary loss directly and indirectly associated with MSDs.
In order for employees to perform their jobs and tasks efficiently and without injury, they must possess, utilize and manage their energy efficiently, especially their postural efficiency. While some jobs, tasks and equipment may pose unique challenges, there are common obstacles in every workforce which must be addressed for ultimate success to occur.
Examples of some of the internal and external forces which play key roles in creating MSD challenges include: beliefs, perceptions, habits, time management, change, commitment, leadership, personal responsibility, accountability, communications, and resource management. The POWER Program is designed to evaluate these unique forces within your organization, so that solutions complement your strengths and help overcome areas of potential weakness.
MSD Prevention training is truly an art and a science. This is due to the fact that people and processes are uniquely intertwined when it comes to ergonomics. This often makes change difficult because change takes time and time exposes the process to many influences. Due to the complex nature of MSDs and the intricate involvement of spinal and nervous systems (and how they relate to MSD injuries), the best way to prevent MSD Injuries and Illnesses is to first educate and then change (or modify) employee’s choices, behaviors and habits in several critical areas. Simultaneously, it is essential that ergonomics and MSD hazards are also improved or eliminated, wherever possible. You can’t have one, without the other!
The type and level of change necessary are often difficult to achieve, especially when an organization attempts to do so entirely from within. In order for an MSD prevention initiative to be truly successful, it requires: consensus, commitment, dedicated resources, a high level of trust, as well as a sufficient level buy-in and support from every level of an organization.
The process of eliminating MSDs (Injuries) must also create a learning environment which overcomes dynamic personal and organizational barriers, which exist in every organization. For these reasons and many others, the most optimal outcomes regarding MSD prevention efforts are best achieved by engaging uniquely qualified experts in Musculoskeletal Disorders – Accurate Ergonomics Specialists. Our specialists are truly neutral third parties in the process of prevention and behavioral change. Simply measuring the force of a task, watching a video or receiving input from an internal resource often do not achieve desired results.
Accurate Ergonomics fully understands these challenges and has developed a proven, systematic approach which both exposes and overcomes obstacles and paves the way for actual change to occur. POWER includes all of the tools necessary to accomplish your MSD prevention goals and Team Accurate remains an objective influence throughout the entire process.
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Accurate Ergonomics MSD Prevention initiatives are rated exceptionally high by employers, leaders, and employees. They achieve positive, measurable results for every client. The POWER Program consistently achieves high-levels of change and long-lasting results. This is due to the fact that we first spend time doing our homework, communicating with stakeholders, defining goals, targets, desired behaviors, and action steps.
The POWER process invites and encourages commitment, buy-in and support from every level of an organization. Training delivery specialists customize program content and postural data collection points which best suit your workforce, its culture, and to encourage positive, measurable, sustainable results. When possible (or desired), POWER includes a perception and culture climate survey. Depending on audit findings this process may also include a personal challenge and experience questionnaire. Surveys and questionnaires may be customized to include the special needs of any given scenario and are delivered on-line and/or as part of classroom training.
Training programs are designed to engage employees in ways which encourage that they set aside any personal or collective obstacles and barriers. In this way, trainees are able to fully absorb critical information with as few perceptions or “filters” as possible. The POWER Program is divided into Modules. Each Module is crafted to reach learners at core mental and physical levels, to be both meaningful and memorable. The types and number of modules depend on audit and assessment findings, the specific audience, and the desired level of positive outcomes and desired behaviors. There are ten Modules. One through five are included in initial training.
Each Module builds upon the previous one. Modules include unique and effective education via a synergistic combination of related subjects, such as: health, anatomy, wellness, nutrition, hydration, discussion and storytelling, biomechanical and postural skills development, countermeasure and micro-break applications, practical skills and applied body mechanics sessions, observations and peer-to-peer coaching, communications, and much more. Modules six and seven transfer the skills learned during previous Modules, directly to the relevant tasks which employees perform. IPA, Leadership and Supervisor Development Programs include additional modules. The POWER Program provides every employee and every leader with a clear method by which to correlate information, in a manner which provides greater overall behavioral and habitual change to occur. A proven approach and methodology, applied over time, in a layered and structured manner.
The foundation for engagement in training is established via discussions on “why” MSD injury and illness prevention matters. The personal value and benefits of prevention. Trainers establish a trusting rapport with learners and discuss what the real and hidden costs are (monetary, personal, family and team costs), and speak to the many benefits each participant will receive as a result of fully participating in each Module. Next we all agree on how to successfully plan, prepare, and execute desired behaviors! Personal responsibility and action steps are discussed and practiced. Countermeasures are explained (such as stretching and flexibility), and practiced by all. One Module focuses on ergonomics and biomechanics, where employees are taught new skills by using our unique methods and terminology. In another Module, participants memorize what a perfect (efficient) posture looks and feels like. Learners are then asked to perform a variety of tasks during an ergonomics obstacle course, which includes lifting, carrying, reaching, and other tasks directly related to each group’s work duties. “At desk” worker trainings include a Module on at-desk ergonomics, proper sitting, computer engagement, and workstation management. Participants then practice these new, efficient skills and the necessary skill set, while their peers observe them and practice offering positive reinforcement feedback.
The final Module during initial training is spent practicing the skills which have just been learned. Our patented process allows class attendees to practice themselves and observe peers and coworkers, so that all are helped to further learn and reinforce these new motor skills. The class then relocates to an appropriate practice area (set up in advance) where participants are coached in transferring their newly learned skills to their relevant tasks. Coworkers are able to observe and assist fellow employees with attaining efficient postures. Discussions (conversations) take place around equipment, tools, and any other obstacles or barriers which present themselves. All participants take turns performing their relevant set of tasks, until they each see and feel the difference (the personal benefits), a flexible and efficient posture creates for them. Once Modules one-five have been completed (which occurs during initial training), POWER takes on a second meaning: