Licensed Industries:

What makes PSR® Unique

PSR® is in each work environment specifically designed for the actual physical, physiological, and psychological demands of the work arena, including the true performance needs.

Most standardized body safety training provided by other industrial hygiene agencies, ergonomics consulting agencies and behavioral based science agencies are limited in scope and as such are limited in their effectiveness.

For one, many of these programs are designed to generically apply in ideal circumstances. often these programs are standardized "one size fits all" programs that are primarily designed to change the work environment.

First, many of these programs concentrate on ergonomics and concentrate on adapting the environment to the worker. That is all good and well in a static environment such as an office cubicle or even a factory floor where the actions and movements of the worker can be easily observed and predicted. The worker tends to be stationary and their activities are limited in terms of movement. When needed, the environment can be modified (positioning the height of an appliance, ergonomic furniture, etc) to assist the worker to do the proper body positioning or to shield him from injury.

However, not all work environments are static and allow for modification of the environment. The demands of these multiple work arenas do not allow for "standardized" responses, i.e. so-called correct body positioning such as "bend the knees, keep the back flat, bring the weight close in". For example, this often does not apply in

• firefighter - EMT: medical transports
• law enforcement: arrestee struggles
• nursing: patient bed transfers
• freight and beverage distribution: reaching overhead for products on truck
• construction - utility: labor intensive, awkward work circumstances

PSR® training imprints the correct body response in each employee according to their own body strength and skills. Each employee physically develops the experience of work as a leveraged unit body response to situations encountered on a day to day basis.  The goal is for the employee to instinctively seek out the correct experience - based on their own size, strengths and weaknesses - to physical challenges that occur regularly in their work environment. It becomes a normal reflexive process.

Many competitor programs operate also on a principle of “observe” and “correct” whereby the ergonomic provider observes “risky behavior” from the sidelines and implements corrective action afterwards. These programs are “reactive” in that only when incorrect behavior is observed, corrective measures are put in place. One could label these programs as “incident driven”. PSR® imprinting programs are "proactive" as they develop instinctive behavior that can be applied continuously throughout the workday, as well as outside the work environment.

Other consultancies utilize a more passive approach: talking in groups, graphics presentations, film, videos. These programs merely succeed at creating a “safety awareness” but offer little or no hands on training except for a few standardized ergonomics exercises. For example, one vendor characterizes its program as “People talking with people” about safety, or “auditing for work experience”. But in essence, these programs are equivalent to learning how to fly a plane by reading a book. They provide theory, but no practice. PSR® is actually the reverse: by actively practicing the correct movement in the real word, the employee gains the experience and comes to understand the body mechanics in person.

Many programs, including some of the few described above, are primarily administrative program that include components that aim to control and manage claims (manage by exception) often through incentive systems, both positive and negative. These programs operate on punishment and reward principles. For example, if no on the job injuries are reported, then employees may become eligible for special bonuses or awards: either financial or ceremonial. For example, on the positive reinforcement side, these would be the “x days without accident” programs or the “Safe employee of the month award” .

On the other hand, there are the programs that punish an employee. For example, some programs employ a scoring system where each employee receives a bad score for having been involved in an accident, with the spectre of dismissal hanging over the employee if he has reached a preset cumulative score. Other punitive mechanisms are limits on promotional opportunities for “accident prone” employees. The effect of these administrative programs is not a reduction in the occurrence of accidents, but rather in the reporting of accidents.

Basically, the philosophy behind these programs is that if an accident is not reported, it did not occur, and if its occurred, it was due to the negligence of the employee. PSR® programs on the other hand offer a more realistic approach and recognize that on the job injuries are not an administrative issue, but a human issue.

The scope and shortcomings limit many of these above referenced provider programs in their effectiveness in effectively reducing musculo-skeletal and back injuries which, as mentioned above, comprise a major proportion of the type of on the job industries, especially in work arenas that are constantly changing and cannot be controlled internally.

PSR®’s programs differ from all of the above mentioned programs in that they strive to provide hands-on practical training that has been specifically tailored for the unique circumstances of work environments that are ever changing and that cannot be predicted. Its programs are designed such that they “imprint” an autonomic reflex response within the workers that cannot only be used within the confines of the workplace, but outside at home and at play as well. .

PSR® is the only source of this type of loss control training in which a pattern of body mechanics is developed and maintained at work, and is self reinforcing in all aspects of living on and off the job. 

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