The Niagara Catholic District School Board (NCDSB) in Ontario, Canada wanted an ergonomic study on the cleaning practices of their custodial staff and recommendations on how to curb on-the-job injuries and workers’ compensation claims. Many custodial workers had developed carpal tunnel syndrome in one or both wrists, and it was costing the NCDSB both through workers’ compensation claims and lost labor for employees who took time off or were placed on “limited duty” due to their injuries.
Chris Bourdages, Lead Ergonomist for Frontline Ergonomics, started the study by filming custodial staff on the job and analyzing work behavior for risk factors. Through those videos he found that the dry and wet mops the district’s custodial staff used exposed them to risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome on a daily basis.
The heavy and unwieldy mops forced employees to grip forcefully and flex both wrists for prolonged periods of time in order to clean thoroughly. It was this deviation of the wrists required for two separate floor cleaning tasks that was putting employees through unnecessary strain and increasing risk of injury. In order to prevent further injuries at Niagara Catholic Schools, one or more risk factors had to be eliminated.
Bourdages recommended that Niagara Catholic School’s custodial staff dispose of their dry mops and replace them with ProTeam backpack vacuums. Dry mopping puts extraneous stress on the upper body, specifically on the joints that absorb much of the strain associated with dragging a heavy mop across the floor. He wanted to give workers efficiency and mobility that was impossible with the dry mopping system they were using.
ProTeam is known for innovative vacuum technology that increases worker productivity and comfort. When a ProTeam backpack vacuum is properly adjusted, 90-percent of the weight of the vacuum rests on the hips and is evenly distributed between both legs. Most of ProTeam’s commercial-grade backpack vacuums weigh between nine and 10 pounds, with their largest and most powerful backpack vacuum weighing only 13 pounds.
“The most impressive part of the vacuum besides its power and functionality is the aluminum wand. The wand is very light, and it keeps the wrists mainly in a neutral posture,” said Bourdages. “The light weight of the wand means that minimal force is required when vacuuming the floors.”
It wasn’t enough for custodial staff to switch to backpack vacuums, they also had to learn proper vacuuming techniques for the best results with the least physical strain. ProTeam’s vacuum design lends to a low-impact side-to-side vacuuming motion that covers maximum square-footage in every swipe.
“The benefit of the backpack vacuum is that the mobility actually speeds up cleaning time,” said Bourdages. “Therefore custodians can clean faster by using the vacuum instead of the dry mop.”
NCDSB is still reviewing the results of the work trail to determine the exact savings from implementing ProTeam’s vacuums, but Bourdages is convinced that the ergonomic backpack vacuums will benefit their facilities.
“This is my first experience with ProTeam. They have a great product that improves the health of workers who work on physical jobs.”
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