Overcoming Ergonomics Challenges in Obesity and Material Handling
Presenters: Ted Borgstadt, CEO, TrestleTree and Jim Galante, chairman, EASE Council
This webinar features presentations on two challenging ergonomics topics. One will cover a solution to the epidemic obesity problem in the United States. The other will tackle ways to reduce injuries from manual material handling in manufacturing and assembly jobs.
View Ted Borgstadt's presentation | View James Galante's presentation
View recording
An Obesity Solution
During our generation, obesity has catastrophically increased. In 1990, 10 states had an obesity rate of less than 10 percent, and no state had more than 15 percent. In 2012, no state had an obesity rate less than 20 percent, only 10 states had less than 25 percent, and 13 states had more than 30 percent.
Nothing good comes from obesity, which can:
- Threaten to shorten the lifespan of our children.
- Increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes for adults.
- Rob families of their ability to engage in physical activities together.
- Dramatically increase the risk, severity and expense of worksite injuries.
- Threaten the number of able-bodied workers in the community.
- Negatively impact American productivity and innovation.
But there is hope: a proven model that engages and changes difficult lifestyle behaviors of individuals, families, employers and companies. The solution moves beyond a simple focus of educating the population. This true solution empowers a uniquely trained coach to "match and move" each individual, based on their unique life circumstances, to the best health and well-being possible.
The Ergonomics Challenges of Industrial Material Handling
Manufacturing, assembly and many other jobs require workers to do excessive manual material handling, and these tasks are directly associated with more than half of the lost injuries in the U.S. These same issues represent more than half of all worker’s compensation claims and costs.
Ted R. Borgstadt holds a degree in business from Evangel University and is the CEO, chairman and co-founder of TrestleTree. With TrestleTree, he has invested the previous 12 years focused on the health, safety and well-being of the individual, the family, the workplace and the community. Borgstadt has more than 25 years of healthcare management and pharmacy services experience and, prior to starting TrestleTree, owned retail pharmacies in northwest Arkansas. He is a speaker at national health and safety conferences and a guest lecturer at the University of Arkansas' Walton School of Business. He has served on the Washington State University School of Pharmacy Dean's Advisory Council and is a founding board member of LifeSource International, a non-profit organization with a holistic approach to supporting families.
James J. Galante has 44 years of experience in the material handling industry. He has worked with and visited hundreds of industrial and commercial facilities to conduct material handling task evaluations and to make recommendations for improvement. Galante was a principal editor of the Ergonomic Guidelines for Manual Material Handling and is the chairman of the EASE Council. Galante has conducted numerous symposiums, seminars and tutorials on the practical application of material handling devices for improvements in productivity, safety and ergonomics in industry.