The Uptime Paradox: The cost of ignoring technician health
Technicians often have to push through pain and fatigue to get the job done, as we discussed in Part 1 of our coverage on technician health and wellness. We presented reasons why they deserve a better work-life balance, but realistically, fleets and shops have to also consider uptime and revenue to stay in business. And due to the overall lack of qualified workers able to do the job, the most skilled have to work more hours. But the question that should be asked is what cost the tech’s body pays?
“When you work long hours, that means there’s less time outside of work for your family and also for your health,” said Dr. Mark Manera, a physical therapist who founded Offshift, a health app for transportation industry workers.
The Offshift CEO started the company after a glut of unhealthy truckers came into his clinic. After some research, he found these drivers’ life expectancy is 16 years lower than the U.S. average. “It’s very clear to me that the trucking industry as a whole has robbed a lot of these people of their health,” he said.
Offshift seeks to undo that by connecting users to wellness coaches and helping them navigate the healthcare system. Most insurance plans, he noted, are not tailored for drivers, techs, and warehouse workers. “They’re built for someone who works in a cubicle and handed to an industrial worker as an afterthought,” Manera said. This causes communication problems between providers and workers and leads to less engagement.
“Honestly, these health benefits are collecting more dust throughout the year than actual usage,” he continued, adding that 50% of truckers don’t have a primary care doctor, which Offshift helps them find.
And many don’t even have time to get routine preventive maintenance checkups and end up ignoring a severe medical issue. “They’re living with it until it’s too late, and they end up in the ER after a major medical emergency, or they die early,” Manera said.
This is where it becomes clear the paradox around uptime might be blatant hypocrisy. Fleet leaders are taught the danger of ignoring routine maintenance and inspections.
“You wouldn’t wait for a check engine or oil light to come on to go change your oil or make sure that your trucks are up to speed,” Manera said. “But that’s exactly what a lot of these companies are doing for their people—they’re waiting for something bad to happen.”
And this is being done with shops and fleets’ most valuable assets: their drivers and techs. Failing to address their issues as often as they do the engines they work on leads to even more expensive and time-consuming repairs. With techs, a lack of routine health maintenance can lead to writing out a much higher worker’s compensation check.
Costs add up
“The average worker’s comp claim costs just over $41,000 per year,” Manera said. “The more severe ones get up to $100,000+. But about a third of musculoskeletal issues can be prevented if we can get these people to be physically active on a consistent basis.”
Manera said connecting workers with coaches to go over habits and behaviors serves as a predictive maintenance tool to mitigate impending injuries. “[At Offshift,] we create a custom health plan for them that’s focused on preventative care, so it’s helping them get ahead of musculoskeletal injuries,” Manera said.
Manera said while truckers may face morbid obesity due to sitting in the driver’s seat most of the day, many techs are merely overweight.
“Technicians struggle with some similar health challenges as professional drivers, just maybe at a less common rate,” said Ali John, sr. manager of culture, wellness, and community engagement for Werner Enterprises. “They may also experience overuse injuries from repetitive movements and have a higher prevalence of muscle strains.”
These are more common due to the repetitive nature of fastening and unfastening bolts and overhead work while the vehicle is on a lift. This leads to achy shoulders and backs that could develop into something more serious. John said Werner employs a stretching program for techs to warm up at the start of shifts to limit preventable injuries.
Bryan Self, former fleet manager for Florida-based Raven Transport, would post JJ Keller-provided instructions on the bulletin board about how to perform two-minute stretches to prevent strains. He also recommended reviewing the previous year’s worker’s comp claims and tailoring changes to mitigate prevalent issues.
“Those are things you want to show that you can avoid, which is now a cost saving,” Self said, while noting that the prospect of saving money always motivates corporate action.
This is more important as the aging workforce, now at an average of 42 years old, according to Zippia, has seen so much action.
“Everybody’s on medication for high blood pressure and has knee and back issues—all that stuff that coincides with wear and tear on your body,” Self said.
With coaching that leads to better health choices and more activity, Offshift users are seeing a difference, Manera asserted. Coaches help employees find calorie-cutting alternatives, as opposed to “30-day diet challenges,” which Manera said are unsustainable and “set you up to fail day one.” Instead of only a Monster energy drink for breakfast, add some protein and fruit to fuel the workday.
He pointed to one tech who recently dipped below 200 lbs. after being above 220 lbs.
“They’re decreasing their pain, they’re increasing some mobility, and they’re losing that 15 to 20 lbs.,” he said. “And they’re having a lot more energy. That is life-changing on a day-to-day basis.”
He added that when one employee shows visible gains from a healthier lifestyle, that word-of-mouth inspires others to follow suit.
