Promoting Safety as Workers Get Older, Fatter: Atlas to Reveal New Findings at NSC Congress & Expo
PRESS RELEASE
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GRAND HAVEN, Mich., October 20, 2011 — As the modern workforce ages and becomes more overweight, employers find themselves facing dramatic new safety, productivity and cost implications.
Atlas Ergonomics founder and Chief Executive Officer Drew Bossen will present the latest findings on the relationship between aging, obesity and injuries, along with an intervention case study, at the National Safety Council's 2011 Annual Congress & Expo in Philadelphia. Bossen's 90-minute presentation, titled "Wellness: The Intersect of a Productive Worker," will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, October 31.
The presentation will help attendees understand the effects of aging on workers' ability to do their jobs; understand the relationship between obesity, illness, injuries and Worker's Compensation costs; study the effects of an employer intervention program, and learn how to track the success and failure of such programs.
The lessons will be particularly vivid in conjunction with the case study, which covers Atlas' work with a workforce of 807 commercial truck drivers over a 20 month period, during which Atlas quantified the scope, risks and costs of the workers' age- and obesity-related problems and implemented an effective intervention program.
"Our nation is fast approaching the day when 70 percent of the workforce will be considered overweight or obese," Bossen said. "Within the transportation industry, with its sedentary tasks, erratic sleep, poor diet and lack of social support, the problem is growing faster and affecting workers even more drastically."
Bossen continued, "Our experience with truck drivers can provide helpful information to employers in all industries about how to address and alleviate inevitable obesity and age-related risks in a proactive way."
About Atlas Ergonomics, LLC
Atlas Ergonomics, LLC is a leading ergonomic service and technology provider, helping customers reduce the spiraling costs of work-related injuries within industrial, office, commercial transportation, warehouse, public transit, and healthcare environments. Atlas guides clients to financially evaluate and define the appropriate strategy, and offers services that are uniquely simple, measurable, and cost effective. Atlas Ergonomics provides turnkey support through the nation’s largest network of ergonomic service providers or can assist corporate resources with the necessary training and technology. Atlas Ergonomics is located in Grand Haven, Michigan, and additional information can be found at www.atlasergo.com.
