What are the business benefits of managing upper limb disorders (ULDs)?

Managing upper limb disorders effectively can bring business benefits to your organisation.

• Increased efficiency
• Fewer days lost to sickness absence
• Lower staff replacement and retraining costs
• Reduced risk of litigation
• Lower insurance/compensation costs

If you do not manage the risk of ULDs to workers, you run the risk of legal action and possible compensation costs.

ULDs can be successfully managed in the workplace by:

• Assessing the risks - looking around your workplace to see which work activities may cause harm and investigating any current cases of ULD
• Reducing the risk of ULDs - this could mean introducing changes to the work area or tools used, the way work is done, the way the work is organised (breaks and rotation) or the work environment (lighting, temperature)
• Helping sufferers back to work

You are more likely to succeed if you:

• Involve workers and their safety representatives early and at every stage
• Encourage workers to report any ULD symptoms
• Design the job to fit the worker
• Provide information and training to all those involved