5 Most Common Reasons Ergonomics (as well as others) Programs Fail: Part 4

Reason #3:  Business Case Failure

Did you ergonomics project fail to get approval?  Or, has your ergonomics program or department budget been cut?  Did you ever stop to wonder why?  Why certain projects, programs and/or departments get budget approval and others do not?   If often comes down to the business case.  The business case has to be compelling enough for it to be approved.  The CFO and others in charge of expenses and revenues have to see a return on investment and even then it may not get approved.  Let’s briefly look at some of the reasons why the business case fails:

Doesn’t It Meet C-Level Expectations:  Missing Standards

Does your organization require a business case to support proposals? If “yes,” then the organization should have clear, objective standards for what makes an

acceptable case.  Have you taken the time to know what those standards are and included them in your business case?  Without inclusion of those standards the reviewers do not see what they expect in the case and therefore will be hesitant to approve it.

Questionable Validity

When the business case comes under review, an uninvited guest almost always comes along with it: the credibility question. The case predicts the future and the audience will have questions.  They want to know if the results will actually happen and what is the likelihood the improvements will actually be less than predicted.

Good-looking projected results alone do not address these questions and, for critical audiences, do not “make” the case. Including your cost model and benefits rationale in the case report helps remove doubts about the completeness of cost coverage or the legitimacy of benefits.

Justification Based Only On Work Comp/Injury Savings (Forgetting To Measure Productivity Gains)

Ergonomics can and should affect so much more than employee injuries alone.  True ergonomics uses a systems approach and is always looking for ways to improve the workspace, workflow and tasks so that not only are risk factors to injury reduced or eliminated but also so that there are gains in productivity and efficiency.

One pitfall that I have run into frequently with safety managers who have made improvements in the past and are now having trouble in getting their budgets approved for future projects partially lies in their failure to capture any gains in efficiency and productivity from previous efforts.  One example of this is a safety manager of a manufacturing plant who purchased pallet lift tables and turners for the end of a packing line in order to eliminate the need for the workers to bend over and reach to place the boxes on the pallet.  Although the workers who worked that specific line reported decreased discomfort and fatigue, there was no documentation (time studies) done before and after to objectify any time savings.  It seems logical that there would be time saved because there is less wasted motions; however because there is no justification the safety manager can’t get the budget approved.

There are other keys to building a solid business which will be addressed at another time.  Suffice it to say, it is necessary that whoever is building the business case must learn and be knowledgeable in the methods and standards expected by the CFO.  It also is imperative that measurements be made before and after all ergonomics efforts in order to continue to justify and receive budgetary approval for future efforts.

Have you had good results with getting your business case approved?  Please share your experiences by commenting!