Workers at apparel company Carhartt Inc. spend much of their days sewing garments, a task the company’s risk management team and risk management services provider CorVel Corp. knew was leading to ergonomic injuries.

The company has spent years tackling the issue, doing everything from changing workstations to modifying hours, said Ashley Arvin, a registered nurse, safety specialist and workers compensation administrator at Carhartt in Irvine, Kentucky. 

The company’s efforts got a big push when it enlisted the help of artificial intelligence in January 2022 at its sewing facility in Irvine — a program that, using a video recording of workers at their stations, could pinpoint postures and practices that were possibly causing aches and pains to backs, shoulders, necks, arms and legs. 

“Those workers began to see that if they continue to do that motion over and over again, which is a repetitive motion, that they’re eventually going to cause harm,” Ms. Arvin said. “We all can become complacent in our daily jobs and just look over those things. This has really brought a lot more attention to the associates and the way that they work.” 

The company can show the videos to illustrate the ergonomic assessment. “Then we’re able to really fix those issues at the workstation because we get feedback pretty quickly,” Ms. Arvin said. 

The program, offered by industrial software company Humantech Ergonomics, cost $8,500 to set up, with an annual fee of $6,000, according to Ms. Arvin, who called the return on investment “tremendous.” 

In 2021, the facility had 16 ergonomics-related workers compensation claims. It ended 2022 with just eight, which resulted in savings of $94,000 at the facility. The program is now being rolled out at other facilities, Ms. Arvin said. 

“Not only did we reduce our number of work injuries but also the cost associated with those,” she said. 

Claudia Hausmann, Louisville, Kentucky-based regional account manager at CorVel, said Humantech “fell in line with what Carhartt was doing before” and that the company already had a good track record for preventing injuries.

“The team, they’re very compassionate, and they’re about their associates and working diligently to prevent injuries,” she said. “They’re very proactive by making sure that all the workstations are ergonomically sound, so they were already working on that.”

FINALISTS

• Fairfax County, Virginia/CorVel — The county partnered with CorVel to change its workers comp program so employees viewed it as an aid to overcoming injury and returning to work.

• Howard Hughes Corp./Everest Insurance — The company partnered with its insurer to establish a customized approach to managing risks and preventing workplace injuries.

• Oakbridge Insurance Agency LLC — The broker helped a high-risk client that was repeatedly turned down for coverage reduce its premium and lower claims. 

• United Educators Management Co. — The risk retention group transformed its risk control incentive program to drive members to adopt proven risk management practices.