Alethea Leandro is a workers' compensation specialist with Norton-Parker Insurance Agency, and former Safety Director at Salyer American Fresh Foods in Salinas, California. At Salyer, she implemented ergonomic changes that significantly reduced workers' compensation premiums for the company. Salyer American employs its own harvesting crews to harvest lettuce and celery on twenty-five small farms.

Q. What background did you have in ergonomics?

I began my career at a small farming operation as the personnel manager. When we moved to a new location we had the opportunity to design our packing shed from scratch. We designed it with the height of our employees in mind, making it more comfortable to stand and work at each location for a long time. This was the start of my ergonomics "training". Little did I know there was a word for designing the workplace with the human body in mind.

Over the years, I've found that most of the equipment we use in California agriculture is designed by and for men. There are many women involved in this industry, and I found, for example, that if things were weighted properly, if the center of gravity was correct, I could use the equipment. If it had been mended or repaired with no concern for balance, I found it difficult to use the equipment safely. We soon began to consider the person using the equipment before any changes or repairs were completed.

Later, my "formal" ergonomics training took place at Human Resources conferences I attended.

Q. What sorts of changes did you implement in the fields?

We made small design changes to the equipment we used to harvest the lettuce. As you know, today produce is packed right out in the field, on equipment that moves through the furrows. On this equipment the workers stand on metal platforms. It's as tough on the body as standing on concrete all day long, so we put anti-fatigue mats (rubber with holes in it, the same type a bartender uses to stand on behind the bar) on the metal platform, and also attached a raised bar to rest their feet on, so they could alternate feet and have their lower backs straight. We saw fewer slips and falls getting on and off the equipment and fewer lower back strains due to fatigue.

Another simple change was to pad a lot of solid surfaces. Some of it was not to bruise the food, and some of it was for people purposes. We used foam rubber with plastic over it so it could be washed down. For example, the cutters have to throw the lettuce or celery up onto a table to the employee who will pack it. That table is shoulder height with an angle iron edge on it, and people were bruising themselves by standing up and hitting the edge. So we padded that, and by padding it, we also raised the surface of the table for the woman or man who was packing, so they weren't reaching as low for the produce and it didn't require any twisting of the upper body. Along with these ergonomic changes, we painted hazards red to catch the eye—an area where a bolt might be sticking out, for example—so they could be avoided, and we trained the employees in the benefits of these changes. These are all small, inexpensive changes, but it's amazing the difference they ma

Q. Did you have a hard time convincing your managers to make changes?

I had two factors in my favor. The workers' compensation premiums were high, and California had just implemented legislation that required each employer to have a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program.

I began with small, easily implemented recommendations. Most recommendations were readily accepted and the results were positive. Along with mechanical changes, we began to change management and employee behaviors through training. What I found difficult was that the question most frequently asked was, "What is this going to cost?" rather than "What is this going to save?"

Q. How much savings did you see?

The loss ratio on our workers' compensation went down steadily each year, which in turn brought the premium down. At year four our workers' compensation premium decreased by one million dollars from the high at year two.

Not all of the savings were due to ergonomic or behavioral changes we had implemented. The manner in which workers' compensation was calculated also changed in January of 1995. California began an open rating system, allowing carriers to discount your rate based on your safety programming. Our programming allowed us to benefit in this new system, with significant discounts on our premiums.

Ultimately, the number of work-related injuries dropped by over 50 percent, and we maintained an ongoing decrease in the number of injuries in our fields. Ergonomics works.