Return On Investment - Defense Centers for Public Health

Limited resources have always forced large companies, small companies, departments, programs, and individual projects to save money. The use of ergonomic assessments and mitigations has long proved to save money and resources, reduce injuries, and improve worker productivity. According to a 2014 Bureau of Labor Statistics report on Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders External Link :

"It is estimated that employers spend as much as $20 billion a year on direct costs for MSD-related workers' compensation, and up to five times that much for indirect costs, such as those associated with hiring and training replacement workers. In addition to these monetary effects, MSDs often impose a substantial personal toll on affected workers who can no longer work or perform simple personal tasks like buttoning their clothes or brushing their hair."

Mission success depends on saving worker health, resources, time and money. Below are some links and presentations that can help you do just that:

Return on Investment - a PowerPoint introduction on what it is and how to use it. (coming soon)
To help you better quantify the benefits of ergonomics, the Puget Sound chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society has developed a cost-benefit calculator that is available for free download . The calculator allows you to compare three intervention options, and provides estimates of benefits and payback periods.
Effect of systematic ergonomic hazard identification and control implementation on musculoskeletal disorder and injury risk. A 2014 report by the National Institutes for Health on the effect of an ergonomic hazard control (HC) initiative, undertaken as part of a company ergonomics standard, on worker injury risk. It concludes that an ergonomic HC through participatory ergonomics, as part of a mandatory company ergonomics standard, is associated with MSD and injury risk reduction among workers.
Quantifying relationships between selected work-related risk factors and back pain: a systematic review of objective biomechanical measures and cost-related health outcomes . A 2009 report by the National Institutes for Health on published literature to demonstrate that specific changes in workplace biomechanical exposure levels can predict reductions in back injuries. Results are intended to provide safety practitioners with information that could be applied to their own work situations to estimate costs and benefits of ergonomic intervention strategies before they are implemented.