BAX-U CASE STUDY – Wellness and Ergonomics Impacting Performance
WHY THE CASE STUDY
• To explore other ways to incorporate wellness into ergonomics
• To determine how impactful the BAX-U device could be to assist in the ergonomic corrective action process
• To enable Seattle City Light employee to have additional, proven avenues to explore to improve their well being
HOW PARTICIPANTS WERE CHOSEN
• Participants had to meet certain criteria to be eligible for the small case study (53)
o Previous users of our online risk tool
o Show discomfort levels in areas we felt BAX-U could impact
• Neck
• Shoulders
• Back
• Head position
HOW PARTICIPANTS WERE CHOSEN
• Participants had to also:
o Be willing to follow the guidelines of the study
• Complete an initial assessment
• Wear the device as prescribed by Dr. Ghassemi, inventor of BAX-U
• Complete an exit survey
INITIAL RESPONSES
• When fitting was conducted
o 5/53 (9%) required a different size from what they chose from the size chart
o 49/53 (92.4%) felt an immediate difference once the fitting was completed
o 30/53 (56.6%) felt immediate pain relief once fitted
INITIAL DATA
• 52/53 (98.1%) completed the initial online risk assessment prior to fitting
• Participants were restricted to the Seattle Municipal Tower and our nearby 901 Location
• Risk categories for the participants
o High Risk- 20 (38%)
o Medium Risk- 13 (24%)
o Low Risk- 20 (38%)
INITIAL DATA
• Overall risk score for the group – 853
• Overall score for the utility currently – 300
• Lost productivity time – 41 minutes
• Lost productivity for the utility – 30
• Annual cost of lost productivity for the group – $14,717
• Annual cost for the utility (per person) – 10,955
INITIAL RESPONSES
• All participants had some form of elevated discomfort that the BAX-U was designed to help relieve
• As the fittings were being conducted
o 23 additional employees wanted to know about the study
o A list was being taken to ensure follow up with those employees
OVERVIEW
• Survey period: May 14-June 7, 2018
• Total responses: 34
Q1: DID YOU FEEL AN IMMEDIATE CHANGE IN YOUR POSTURE WITH THE DEVICE?
Q2: HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU BEEN WEARING THE DEVICE
Q3: HAS WEARING THE BAX-U DEVICE MADE YOU MORE AWARE OF BETTER WORK ERGONOMICS?
Q4: WHICH OF THESE ARE MOST AFFECTED WHEN WEARING BAX-U
Q5: HAVE YOU WORN THE BAX-U WHILE EXERCISING?
Q6: WOULD YOU RECOMMEND BAX-U TO SOMEONE YOU KNOW?
EXIT ASSESSMENT RESULTS
• Risk categories for the participants of High Risk – 10 (18.8%)
o Medium Risk- 13 (24.4%)
o Low Risk- 30 (56.8%)
CONCLUSIONS TO DATE
• Case Study with Think Healthy using the BAX-U posture system
o Using the device for 3 months data showed
o 63% improvement in overall discomfort levels
o 75% improvement in neck and back discomfort specifically
o 45% improvement in employee risk score (853/385)
o 21% drop in lost productivity minutes (41/32)
o 20% drop in lost productivity costs per employee ($14,717/11,774)
CONCLUSIONS TO DATE
• Success with this small case study has allowed us to begin work on planning additional case studies
o A second study using wearables (2019)
• Use of a shirt style device
• Include field/industrial workers this time
o Introducing the potential use of exoskeletons at the utility (Late 2018/early 2019)
• Limited job tasks
• Non-energized work only
CONCLUSIONS TO DATE
• Additional Metrics regarding this case study will be made available at Ergo Expo in August
o 24 August 8:30am-9:30am
• PM9 – Building and Maintaining a Successful Ergonomics Process
QUESTIONS
Keith Osborne Ergonomist Seattle City Light
Ke***********@*****le.gov
Dr Romina Ghassemi D.C. Think Healthy Inc.
dr*@***-u.com
