Opinion: Costly Solution in Search of a Problem

By Edwin J. Gilroy

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has formally issued its proposed ergonomics standard, supposedly aimed at reducing musculoskeletal disorders. In doing so, OSHA has signaled its total disregard for basing public policy on sound science. OSHA also claims that the rule will cost American businesses a mere $4 billion a year, when well-respected economists have concluded that annual costs could actually exceed $100 billion. Additionally, many question whether these news costs would actually prevent injuries.

OSHA certainly seems to believe that it knows best and that the rest of us don’t. In fact, OSHA repeatedly claims that ergonomic fixes are as cheap and easy as placing a box under a computer operator’s feet. If only it were that simple.

OSHA, instead, has written a complex regulation full of flaws, including a complete lack of scientific rationale. For instance, no one can say at what point workplace activities are responsible for MSDs. Studies have proven that non-work factors such as age, obesity and stress at home can play a role in MSDs. However, the rule actually prohibits healthcare providers from even informing employers of any non-work factors that may have contributed to an employee’s MSD.

It’s worth pointing out that employers know that their employees are their most valuable resource and many have established ergonomics programs. They create safety programs because it’s good for employees and good for business. If OSHA has its way, however, employers will not be able to tailor programs around their organization’s needs due to OSHA’s “one-size-fits-all” approach.

Within OSHA’s 1,000-plus-page document, the rule would require all employers involved in material handling and manufacturing operations, as well as those who have at least one employee with a reported MSD, to develop ergonomics programs. A reported MSD may include employee complaints of hand tingling or back and wrist aches. This would require employers to shift their limited resources away from administering safety programs that have proven to prevent injuries toward experimentation with unproved measures.

All of this might not be objectionable if employers knew for certain when they would be in compliance with the rule. Unfortunately, OSHA has not defined compliance. Rather, OSHA requires employers to reduce MSDs “to the extent feasible.” What does that mean? No one knows.

The rule’s impact will be especially significant for trucking. Jobs that include “heavy” lifting, vibrations, static postures and “excessive” force are deemed to be “problem jobs.” These include moving packages, driving over bumpy roads, sitting for long periods of time, or using pneumatic tools. In fact, the proposal specifically classifies truck drivers and freight handlers as high-risk occupations. Risks to over-the-road drivers due to whole-body vibration exposure are also specifically mentioned. OSHA might well require motor carriers to completely redesign workplaces, which would include trucks, as well as require changes in the way freight is transported and distributed. There are financial implications as well.

OSHA claims that its rule would cost $4 billion annually – the most expensive estimate of a regulation ever by OSHA. American Trucking Associations estimates that the rule would cost the trucking industry alone more than $6 billion a year.

Costs are certainly important to any industry, but cost alone is not what drives opposition to this rule. Rather, it’s the total lack of any sound scientific and medical consensus on what causes MSDs and OSHA’s demand that American business spend billions of dollars in providing a solution that is in search of a problem.

Business leaders value their employees. They have always advocated spending resources on common sense safety plans based on real-world experiences. Statistics from the U.S. Labor Department support this effort. It reports that while employment in the trucking industry is growing, the number of employee injuries has dropped substantially. Specifically, employment was up 4% in the trucking industry and warehousing industry from 1997 to 1998, while injuries and illnesses decreased 14%. Common sense steps certainly are proving to be successful.

OSHA should permit employers to continue common sense responses, drop its unrealistic and unsound proposal, go back to the drawing board and come back when the science is in.