Anti-fatigue mats and matting are an inexpensive way to save companies thousands of dollars. Learn the three major reasons why anti-fatigue matting saves employers money.

Save Money with Anti-Fatigue Matting

Matt Timme is a mechanical engineer with ergonomic training and has implemented anti-fatigue matting to solve several ergonomic issues. Visit http://www.ergonomicpartners.com/Anti-Fatigue-Matting.aspx to learn here how and why anti-fatigue mats save money.

Anti-Fatigue Matting are recommended for standing workers by OSHA, the Human Factors Society and the CDC. Anti-fatigue matting is recommended because it creates a safe and comfortable work environment.

Why Does It Save You Money?

1. Scientific studies by Occupational Therapist have shown that standing for long periods of time on hard surfaces will make a worker uncomfortable. The main culprit for this discomfort is the pooling of blood in the lower extremity. The reason for this pooling is simple. In an effort to remain standing, you lower leg muscles are continuously flexed. This reduces the bodies flow of oxygen and blood back to your heart. Hence, the blood will start to pool in your lower extremities.

The pooling of blood not only causes fatigue, but can lead to further health issues such as inflamed or varicose veins. Fatigue is a major player when it comes to workplace injuries and productivity. When a person is fatigued, their concentration, motivation to work and attitude can change drastically.

Those are three major problems for an employer. When a person does not concentrate on his or her job, critical components may be missed or even worse, someone could accidentally get hurt. When a person is fatigued, they are more likely to take breaks, even if they are short 1-2 minute breaks. It has been shown that people naturally want to shift every 20 minutes or so. If they take a short break from fatigue, an employer could be losing valuable hours of productivity yearly.

Lastly, when an operator has a bad attitude, it could be easily be carried over to other workers in the plant, or, even worse, it could lead to people quitting their jobs because they feel the employer does not care about their health. This can be very costly to companies, as it takes large amount of money to hire and train new employees.

2. While a good quality ergonomic mat may cost you $150, the cost of an injury resulting from standing can be much greater. As discussed above, constant standing forces the muscles to flex without a break. This puts the feet and legs under a large amount of pressure just due to gravity. Over time, the pressure builds up on the balls and heels of the feet. This pressure causes stretching and straining of the plantar fascia, resulting in what is commonly known as plantar fasciitis.

Surgery for a disorder like this can cost up to $5,000, not to mention the amount a company could spend in lost time resulting from the surgery. As the age of the work force increases with the baby boomer era, the risk of injury also increases. With older age, ligaments and tendons lose their elasticity. This loss of elasticity decreases the ability of tendons and ligaments to absorb shock, making them more susceptible to tearing.

While rolling a golf ball underneath a foot or using insoles would help with the problem after it occurs, anti-fatigue matting can drastically improve blood flow in the lower extremities. Anti-fatigue mats prevent these issues from occurring by encouraging movement in leg muscles. As the leg muscles contract and relax, blood will pump back to the heart. This eliminates the problem of blood pooling in the lower extremities, thus eliminating many of the issues that are associated with standing for extended periods.

3. In environments where machine cutting fluid is used, wet production areas and other slip prone areas, anti-fatigue matting can drastically impact a workplace. Slipping is a major source of injury in many manufacturing environments. It is not unusual to have up to 20% of a company’s injures to be caused from slips and falls.

Slips and falls can result in much more serious injuries than planter fasciitis. Broken bones, dislocations and other serious injuries from slips and falls can put an employee out of work for months. If chosen correctly, many anti-fatigue mats are built with special slip resistant coatings. These slip resistant mats have proven effective in reducing injury in several work place environments.

Anti-fatigue matting is can be put in almost any area. They are made of many different materials such as rubber, carpet or vinyl. When considering major ergonomic improvements with an affordable price, anti-fatigue matting is a quick easy way to improve safety, reduce workplace injuries and relieve the stress from standing. In short, ergonomic matting is good for the employees and good for business. It sends a message that as an employer is serious about keeping their employees healthy and happy.

Service Availability: Most of the services reviewed by "Aus Business Review" are provided by Australian based companies and organisations and available in different Australian states and territories. These include New South Wales (Sydney, Newcastle), Queensland (Brisbane, Gold Coast), South Australia (Adelaide), Victoria (Melbourne, Ballarat), Western Australia (Perth, Albany, Mandurah, Bunbury, Port Hedland, Kalgoorlie), Northern Territory (Darwin, Alice Springs), Australian Capital Territory (Canberra) and Tasmania (Hobart).

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The review "Save Money with Anti-Fatigue Matting" was last updated on 03/9/09.