As you may well know by now, the USPS introduced its Ergonomic Risk Reduction Process (ERRP) at the Fort Lauderdale P & DC on September 9, 2003.  Though it’s still in its initial stages, the first steps have been taken to ensure that the voice of the worker is heard so that various suggested ergonomic improvements can be investigated and eventually instituted, where feasible. Appropriate ergonomic related training has begun, a Ft. Lauderdale P & DC ERRP logo has been designed, and an ERRP suggestion form has been made available.  Hopefully, core committee solutions will be forthcoming in the months to come with your help.  

As reported previously, ERRP is a nationwide, joint effort between the USPS, OSHA and the APWU to reduce the number of muscular-skeletal disorders (MSD’s) among workers.  It has been introduced at over twenty sites since January 2003 and it is hoped that through the participation of managers, supervisors, workers, and the local safety and health committee, a more ergonomically friendly workplace will be formed.  Through this undertaking the USPS wants to change the safety culture at its facilities, reduce the amount of exposure to safety and ergonomic risk, and heighten worker involvement and responsibility.  In the long run the USPS wants to build self-sustaining ergonomic skill sets at each facility.    
 
As of this writing, all national and regional level APWU officers enthusiastically endorse the program.  Realistically speaking, it is difficult to present a reasonable argument opposing the process.  Since its introduction, it has been proven to be (thus far) an effective instrument that can bring about change when the voice of the worker is heard.  Workers should take advantage of this opportunity and become familiar with the names of those who serve on the core committee, a subcommittee of the local s/h committee whose job is to investigate the possibility of change through the suggestions of workers.  As of this writing, the APWU representatives on the local ERRP core committee are C. Hadden, J. Richardson, D. Harper, C. McCombs, L. Grant, W. Hord, and F. LoBello.  Other than face-to-face conversations, contact with these individuals can be accomplished through the submission of newly created suggestion forms available at the ERRP office and at the bulletin board located at the main entrance to the workfloor.  There is also a facsimile of the suggestion form included in this paper.  These forms can be submitted anonymously.

Below is a list of some of the fixes introduced at other participating facilities across the country.  NOTE, however, that these fixes represent unique solutions to problems as they existed at certain facilities, and they may not necessarily apply in Fort Lauderdale.  They are presented only to demonstrate that the process APPEARS to be working, and to stimulate your imagination.

· The installation of a slip resistant conveyor belt to reduce the possibility of parcels falling and injuring employees.
· The installation of conveyors to transport unloaded sacks of mail from trucks to other designated areas.
· The installation of leashes on dockplates to make them easier to lift.
· The adjustment of various tables, conveyors, etc. to make lifting and bending less strenuous, as well as the installation of same in key areas.
· Minimizing the use of lower bins on DBCS’s.
· The purchase and installation of anti-fatigue mats.
· The use of old conveyor belts as anti-fatigue mats for those who did not like the sponginess of certain anti-fatigue matting.
· The introduction of more ergonomically friendly chairs and computer keyboards for administrative personnel.
· The adjustment of the height of handles on housekeeping equipment (e.g. vacuum cleaners) to reduce bending at the waist, thus making them less strenuous on the back muscles.
· Requiring contractors to open their own vehicle doors, as per their contracts, so that USPS employees do not risk injury.
· The installation of better pull down ropes for doors.
· The installation of foam padding at certain locations on equipment where there is a good deal of “contact stress” i.e. places where certain parts of one’s body become irritated over time from regular contact with certain corners, ledges, edges, etc. that are inherently bothersome.
· An increase in the frequency and the amount of time dedicated to the lubrication of machine parts to make them easier to work.
· The purchase of pallet jacks that lift pallets higher off the ground, thus reducing bending.
· The purchase of tippers.
· Providing training to reduce the overloading of equipment and the problems that overloading causes.
· Providing training on proper footwear and cushion soles.
· The installation of an electrically powered siphon that automatically emptied dirty water from buckets into a designated drain, thereby eliminating any risk of injury when lifting such clumsy items.
· The installation of more useful handles to large garbage disposal units to better handle them.
· The introduction of a diverter that is designed to keep packages from straying too far out of reach on certain conveyor belts.
· The introduction of lighter chocks for tractor trailers.

It may also interest you to know that the USPS plans on introducing a web site to detail those ergonomic changes that have worked at participating facilities, as well as those that have failed.   By the time this edition of the Coastal Breeze is delivered to your mailbox, there is a good possibility that access to this website may be available, at least to core group participants.

I would also like to emphasize that the APWU could reconsider their endorsement if it becomes evident that this process develops into something other than that which was initially described to all those concerned, or for any other reason that is contradictory to the goals of the APWU.

Please remember, though, that the most important part of this partnership is, of course, YOU and if YOU do not allow YOUR concerns to be brought to the forefront, less will be accomplished.  Is there an ergonomic issue that you feel needs to be addressed?  Then take a minute and complete and submit the attached Ft. Lauderdale ERRP suggestion form, and put the process to the test.