As a leading producer of engines for outdoor power equipment and as a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium-ion batteries, standby generators, energy storage systems, lawn and garden, turf care, and job site products, Briggs & Stratton employs thousands of employees in manufacturing facilities in 8 states. Working in a manufacturing environment is fast-paced and physically demanding. At Briggs & Stratton, safety is a priority. The business is committed to reducing and preventing common musculoskeletal injuries such as strains, sprains, and repetitive motion injuries. Employees who work hard, pick up shifts, and work overtime must be vigilant about stretching and compliant with job rotation to avoid muscle fatigue. "With manufacturing, when you do the same job for long periods, your body gets tired, and your posture deteriorates. Maintaining stability in your core and good form reduces the risk of injury and pain in your back, hips, and knees," says Christine Reichardt, Benefits Manager at Briggs & Stratton.
The engine maker takes workplace safety seriously, as the business's success depends on employees working on the line and performing their jobs without injury. Briggs & Stratton's strategy is to educate employees and be proactive so injuries can be avoided and the number of days absent due to injury can be reduced. "From a business perspective, what you're trying to do is identify ways to reduce risk and ensure employees go home the same way as when they came into work," Reichardt says.
With spiraling healthcare costs and a lack of convenient access to injury care, Reichardt pitched integrating physical therapy and occupational health into Briggs' existing employee health centers staffed by Marathon Health. "Our health centers were primarily focused on personal primary care," Reichardt says. "From a safety perspective, it makes perfect sense to offer occupational health and PT onsite when you're doing heavy manufacturing."
Designing a Data-Driven Plan
In 2021, Briggs & Stratton introduced physical therapy and occupational health services at their Marathon Health centers in Statesboro, Georgia, and Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
Reichardt worked with Jon Strychasz, the National Director of Physical Therapy at Marathon Health, to design a plan to address employee needs. First and foremost, they knew they wanted to be proactive in their approach, and data would define their decision-making.
To get the right data, they brought in Melissa Samuels, an occupational therapist, VP of global business development, and Partner at ErgoFactor, an ergonomic job analysis software and consulting services provider. "We take a look at the overall risk per body part over seven body parts, and we provide a risk rating," Samuels says of ErgoFactor. "And that information then becomes critical to managing the entire program."
Next, they married the data Samuels' team collected with Briggs & Stratton claims data on workplace injuries. "We sat down and said, 'What are the top claims by line? And what are the top claims by type of injury and how many injuries are there?'" Reichardt says.
Strychasz included Marathon Health metrics and insights on physical therapy appointments for the final piece of the data trifecta.
"We worked with their safety team to address the pain points related to recordable injuries on the job and identified three high-incidence injuries at each center. The great thing about this collaboration is how we're all using data points from each other to really drive the programs," Strychasz says.
The data allows Briggs & Stratton to understand the risk for every role across the business and proactively build programming and support to minimize injury. "You have to have the data and the understanding of what the job is in order to design out ergonomic risk," Samuels says. "Then we can quantify where the risk is specifically, highlight how it correlates to [Briggs & Stratton's] injury rates and what Jon and his team are seeing from employees entering the clinic."
If an employee suffers a work-related injury, Briggs & Stratton can leverage their data to pivot employees to a different role that won't aggravate the injury. "Through the programs we created, we can enter information and it will spit out a list of jobs they can safely perform," Strychasz says. "Even if we realize they can't do their full-duty job, we can rotate them into a different role while they recover. The key is you want to keep people working."
Preparing Employees for a Demanding Job
The Industrial Athlete program was one of the first programs Briggs & Stratton developed. It was designed to help new employees prepare for the physical demands of the job. "During new hire orientation, we tell them, 'It's going to be hard. You're going to have aches and pains because you're standing for eight to 10 hours, and your body has to adjust. Don't be surprised if your muscles are sore by Friday,'" Reichardt says.
Beyond mentally preparing new hires, the Industrial Athlete program teaches new employees how to stretch properly, provides them with exercises throughout the day, and connects them with additional resources to set them up for success. "We teach them mobility and strengthening exercises during orientation and instruct them to start preparing and ramping up to the job tolerance," Strychasz says. "We go over lifting mechanics and hydration, but we're not just saying, 'Here are some exercises.' It's about addressing whole health, so employees can make it to the end of their shift in the same physical shape as when they started."
Physical Therapy Provides a Bridge to Total Health
Strychasz says physical therapy is only one component of comprehensive patient care. It often serves as a lever to connect employees with primary care and start them on a path to address total health. "We have people who spend 70% of their day on the job, so if you're missing out on their occupational health and wellbeing, you can't address their overall primary care," Strychasz says.
When an employee visits a physical therapy center in the community, Strychasz says the provider typically focuses on treating the injury but doesn't understand the underlying causes or how it ties into overall health. "We have that unique insight to go on the job lines and understand intimately what they do on a daily basis," Strychasz says. "When they come to the clinic, we have a really great understanding of the physical demands placed on their body, so we can develop an appropriate rehab program and make sure they're truly safe to go back to the job."
In 2023, Briggs & Stratton introduced an Early Intervention Program, which provides appropriate treatment and support to employees. The clinical team can watch how employees work and provide ergonomic recommendations to minimize the impact and duration of emerging symptoms or prevent an injury.
Walking the production facilities also helps the physical therapists, Megan Eads and Fran Crenshaw, get to know employees, develop relationships, and build trust. Suppose an employee visits the health center for a sprain or pulled muscle. That trust makes it easier for physical therapists to discuss primary care needs. "We'll ask, 'When's the last time you had your annual physical, or who's managing your diabetes? No one. All right, let's talk to our primary care provider. Let's get you on the schedule for a biometric screen and comprehensive health review.'
"The other thing this programming brings is employee satisfaction," Strychasz adds. "Employees feel like they have a resource. They feel heard. They feel like they can reach out to someone if they have a problem."
Fewer Injuries Lead to Significant Savings
Now, a few years into the partnership with Marathon Health and ErgoFactor, workplace injuries at Briggs & Stratton are down significantly, resulting in fewer days of missed work and lower claims expense. "A lot of manufacturing companies have posters on the wall or stretching programs, but it's all very stagnant and they don't really follow through." Reichardt says. "Our programs provide resources beginning at orientation, so if someone has a sore shoulder on the job, instead of waiting for it to become an [OSHA] recordable, we intervene before it becomes an injury."
By reducing the number and extent of injury claims, Briggs & Stratton saw their average incurred costs for injury claims decrease by 12% in year two and 40% in year three, saving the organization millions.
"It's a game-changer from a financial perspective-you can see the results within our workers' comp claims and our risk. It's great for employees and engagement, and it's great for personal health," Reichardt says.
Additional safety metrics from 2022 to 2023 include:
- DART (days away, restricted, or transferred) rate reduced by 47%
- OSHA recordables (death, days away, restricted or transferred, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness) down 40%.
- Lost time cases down 47%
Ultimately, Briggs & Stratton will continue its proactive approach to addressing workplace injuries and rely on its partnership with Marathon Health and ErgoFactor to make data-driven decisions.
"We can design out every single risk within a facility, but as long as there are people, you'll always have musculoskeletal disorders," Samuels says. "So, the need for the service over time might become less, but it never completely goes away."