Seguridad en el Lugar de Trabajo y Gestión de Riesgos
The value of casters in the workplace is often overlooked; those wheels on the bottom of a cart can do much more than just roll. The right casters can have a tremendous impact on health and safety, not to mention employee productivity and performance. We’ve created innovative caster wheel products to help protect workers against some of the most common and costly hazards, including:
- Hearing Loss – The second most common illness in the workplace
- Overexertion – Leading cause of workplace injuries
- Injuries from Accidents and Collisions
- Heavy Materials Handling
Noise and Hearing Loss
According to a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hearing loss is the second most common work-related illness. Unfortunately, unlike some other illnesses, hearing loss is irreversible. There is no way to recover what is lost.
In addition to the risk of hearing loss, excessive noise has many other negative effects on employees. It hinders communication and greatly increases the risk of errors, creates agitation and lowers employee morale, and can increase stress and anxiety, to name a few. Not to mention the penalties that can be imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
OSHA has strict guidelines on noise levels and the duration of noise exposure at those levels (Occupational Safety and Health Act 1910.95), and an increase of just 5 decibels can cut exposure time in half, meaning an 8-hour workday becomes a 4-hour one. If the increase is 15 decibels, that workday is reduced to just 1 hour! OSHA recommends engineering controls to reduce noise, such as CasterShoX® wheels with the ShoX® Absorption System integrated into the core to address the impact at the source.
Overexertion and Ergonomics
Overexertion involving an external force is the leading cause of workplace injuries and costs U.S. businesses more than $15 billion, according to the 2016 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index.
In addition to monetary costs, overuse injuries result in a longer recovery period than the average for other injuries, affect morale, and can reduce overall performance.
A common external force that can lead to overexertion injuries is industrial carts. Industrial carts often move loads weighing thousands of kilograms, requiring significant force to start, keep rolling, and turn. Workers are often required to exert this force consistently throughout the workday, greatly increasing the risk of overexertion injuries. Ergonomic wheels can reduce the force exerted and the risk of injury due to overexertion. TWERGO® by Caster Concepts can reduce initial and sustained push force by an average of 25%, with some users reporting up to a 50% reduction in push force.
Accidents and Collisions
Injuries from being struck by an object or equipment are a leading cause of workplace injuries and cost U.S. businesses more than $5 billion, according to the 2016 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. Industrial carts weighing thousands of pounds when loaded can create a very serious threat to operators as well as other workers.
Caster Concepts offers a complete line of options and accessories that can help reduce the risk of an accident. Accessories such as toe guards to prevent a cart from rolling over someone’s foot, or caster brakes to prevent the cart from rolling, especially while loading or unloading. Swivel lock sections allow greater control by eliminating the swivel function of a wheel and locking the wheels in a specific direction, making the cart easier to handle.
Moving Extremely Heavy Loads
Some applications require moving loads weighing tons, which can cause a great deal of concern! Extremely heavy loads generally put pressure on workers and require multiple operators. We can help alleviate those concerns and free up operators with the industry’s first motor-driven caster, the Drive Caster™. This motorized caster can move up to 3,000 kg effortlessly — the only force required is pressing a button. For heavier loads or to add steering, incorporate a second Drive Caster™.
Extremely heavy loads can also pose a risk of equipment failure, and using the wrong caster can be catastrophic. A locked wheel can cause muscle strain for the operator, while a collapsed wheel under the load can cause materials to fall on the operator or other workers, resulting in further damage and injury. Rest assured, we are experts in designing and building heavy-duty casters to overcome almost any challenge. And if the right caster isn’t in our catalog, we’ll design a custom caster for your application, as we have for thousands of customers, including the world’s largest manufacturers. Our engineering team will work with you to design the exact caster required for your application.
As you can see, those small wheels on the bottom of the cart play an important role in safety. Contact us today to learn more about our mission for 360-degree workplace safety coverage.
