CASE STUDY: VITACO

Client Snapshot

• Industry:    Manufacturer of health foods, sports nutrition and supplements. 
• Workforce Size:    550.
• Locations:    4 manufacturing sites and 3 warehouse sites in Auckland. Merchandisers and territory managers spread around the country. 
• Context:   High manual handling demands in the Manufacturing and Warehouse areas range from heavy activities to lighter repetitive actions.  Merchandisers and Territory Managers in stores in a range of environments, dealing with stocking shelves and store relays.
• First engaged Provention:    2023.

The Impact

• 190 team members trained onsite across our 24-hour operation and multiple sites. 
• 55 Merchandisers completed online training modules. 
• Light-duty injury days have been reduced by 55% since completing the program. 
• Early detection reporting increased by 63%. 
• During training, participating team members consistently commented on how noticeable the difference was when doing the exercises. The most common remark was: “I would never have thought that your pinkie would be more powerful than your whole hand.” 
• The Provention program provides easy-to-remember hints that help team members embed new habits into their daily routines. It supports their well-being not just at work but also in their home life.

The Challenge

Vitaco were facing:

• Back and shoulder strains and sprains among team members; primarily caused by heavy lifting and repetitive tasks over extended periods. Approximately 39% of these injuries resulted in lost time, or “light duties.”
• Some staff were experiencing more than one strain or sprain injury each year. 
• We had previously piloted another manual handling program but it did not achieve high levels of engagement or consistent use of the techniques. 
• The business has experienced significant growth and the mix of products has also changed, resulting in team members lifting more frequently and handling a wider range of weights.

Vitaco Approach

Vitaco partnered with Provention to embed Safe Movement Principles across all areas of the business through a multi-delivery style approach.

• Step 1: On-site observations:    Provention observed the manufacturing environments to understand the physical demands and daily activities.  This ensured the First Move sessions were tailored with specific task applications.   
• Step 2:    Provention Delivery:    Every team member in Vitaco’s manufacturing, warehouse and territory manager areas completed an interactive First Move session.  The sessions included practical and industry-specific applications of the Safe Movement Principles.
• Step 3:    Champion Training:    Team Leaders were upskilled to reinforce safe movement principles – regularly ensuring long-term habit change and programme success. 
• Step 4:    Train-Trainer.    The Health and Safety team became certified First Move Trainers, enabling them to deliver onboarding sessions to new employees and refreshers for existing staff. 
• Step 5:    Support resources.   Posters with embedded QR codes that linked to video reminders were placed across the worksites. These could be used by individuals, on-demand, or incorporated into toolbox talks.  It provided topics of conversation for our daily team meetings. 
• Online Programme:    The merchandising team, spread across multiple sites and with lower injury risk, completed the First Move Online programme.  This was a sustainable and cost-effective solution.    
• Stretching Programme: As part of Vitaco’s monthly focus on a First Move principle, suggested stretches were provided for teams to do together during their daily meetings.

Key Takeaway

• The Provention program has provided strong support for our team members, helping reduce manual handling incidents and improve overall safety awareness. 
• The Train-the-Trainer model has ensured we now have in-house capability to deliver First Move principles to all new team members. 
• It’s been encouraging to see a noticeable reduction in manual handling incidents over the past 12 months.

To positively impact the physical health of your team, get in touch with Provention today.