NSC Marks Fifth Anniversary of MSD Solutions Lab at Safety Summit

Washington — The National Safety Council marked the fifth anniversary of its MSD Solutions Lab on June 23 during its annual Workplace Safety Summit. The lab was launched to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders and improve worker well-being. The event included discussion of how hundreds of employers are addressing MSD risk.

Pledge Participation and Global Reach

Since the lab’s inception, almost 300 organizations in 22 countries have signed the MSD Pledge. Those organizations represent more than 3 million workers. The lab has published over 50 publicly available educational resources, research reports, toolkits and case studies.

MSDs are the most common workplace injury, affect nearly a quarter of the world’s population, and are the leading cause of worker disability, early retirement and limitations to gainful employment, the council says. According to Safety+Health Magazine, one key benefit of signing the pledge is participation in the MSD Solutions Index benchmarking study.

Safety Score Improvements

Over the past three years, 72% of the employers who signed the pledge improved their overall safety scores, while 78% raised their safety culture scores. The participants also have experienced a 46% decline in their total recordable incident rate over three years.

Grants and Innovation

The lab has invested more than $1 million through grant programs that advance workplace safety innovation and practical injury prevention solutions. It has also launched annual Safety Innovation Challenges to identify emerging prevention technologies. The MSD Solutions Lab is supported by funding from Amazon.

According to Safety+Health Magazine, Paige DeBaylo, the lab’s director, stated that many organizations have moved from awareness to execution. NSC CEO Lorraine M. Martin noted that risks facing workers have continued to evolve and that commitment must evolve as well. The source publication is available at https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/nsc-marks-5-years-of-its-msd-solutions-lab-during-annual-summit/.