June is National Safety Month, and week three puts the spotlight on Roadway Safety. It’s a vital topic because forklifts, trailers, and delivery trucks come with clear and immediate risks. But there’s another hazard moving right alongside them that rarely gets the attention it deserves: poor ergonomics.

In warehouses and fleet operations, physical strain isn’t the exception, it’s the routine. Workers lift, push, carry, and twist all day long. These actions don’t always lead to dramatic injuries, but they are the leading cause of musculoskeletal disorders in the industry. The damage builds slowly: a sore shoulder here, a tight back there. One day it’s discomfort, next week, it’s lost time.

Ergonomic risks don’t sound alarms. They don’t stop production in the moment. But over time, they drain productivity and increase costs in ways many companies don’t see coming. The good news? You can stop them before they get worse. This post will show you how. We’ll break down where these risks hide, who they affect most, and what simple steps you can take to start solving them today.

‍

High-Risk Roles: Who’s Most Affected by Poor Ergonomics?

Before we talk about where these injuries happen, it helps to know who’s most at risk. The answer isn’t always obvious, and it goes beyond the usual suspects.

‍

• Truck Drivers: They face more than just long hours on the road. They climb in and out of cabs dozens of times a day, often jumping down instead of stepping properly. Inside trailers, they’re expected to handle loads in cramped spaces that weren’t designed for safe movement. Most don’t have lift gates or ergonomic equipment to help them.

‍

• Dock Workers: They’re often racing the clock. As shipments arrive, they need to unload quickly, bending, reaching, and twisting to move heavy items. Poorly stacked pallets or narrow dock space make it easy to adopt risky postures just to get the job done.

‍

• Pickers and Packers: Their jobs require fast, repetitive motion. Reaching for items, scanning, sealing, and stacking, over and over again. Even lightweight tasks add up when repeated all shift, leading to wrist, shoulder, and lower back strain.

‍

• Forklift Operators: They spend long hours sitting in one position. Often, they twist at the waist to see behind them or crane their neck to spot loads. Over time, this puts stress on the spine, hips, and shoulders, especially without proper seat support.

‍

• Supervisors, Safety Leads, and HR: They may not be doing the lifting, but they feel the pressure. Every injury report, production delay, and safety meeting lands on their desk. Without good ergonomic controls in place, they’re stuck responding to injuries instead of preventing them.

‍

Each of these roles brings its own set of challenges, but the environment plays just as big a part. Next, let’s look at the places where ergonomic risks show up most often, and when they tend to strike.

‍

Where and When Ergonomic Injuries Are Most Likely to Happen

Ergonomic injuries don’t need a big event to occur. Often, they show up in the places and times you’d least expect, during routine tasks in familiar settings.

‍

• The Dock: It’s one of the busiest spots on site. Workers hustle to stay on schedule. When pallets are stacked too high or aisles are blocked, they end up lifting in awkward ways or twisting around obstacles. Add poor lighting or slippery surfaces, and the risks multiply fast.

‍

• Inside the Trailer: Space is always tight. Workers are often forced to reach overhead or bend deep into corners. Many trailers lack tools to support safe movement, making each lift harder on the body than it should be.

‍

• The Yard: It’s unpredictable. Deliveries don’t always arrive on time, and space gets cramped. Workers may skip safe practices to keep things moving, especially during bad weather or when vehicles block the ideal path for loading or unloading.

‍

Understanding these patterns gives you a head start. Now let’s explore what you can do to break them, starting with simple, practical actions that don’t require major overhauls.

‍

Simple, Proven Ways to Reduce Ergonomic Injuries Now

You don’t need a full system overhaul to make a real difference. Some of the most effective changes start with small adjustments and better conversations.

‍

• Watch the Job: Spend time on the floor observing daily tasks. Look for signs of strain, like twisting, reaching, or awkward lifting. These patterns often point to preventable risks.

‍

• Talk to Your Workers: Ask direct questions. What slows them down? What hurts by the end of the day? These answers will highlight problems you might not catch on your own.

‍

• Train Often: Make ergonomics part of regular safety talks and training. Don’t wait for annual refreshers. Use quick sessions during shift changes to teach body mechanics and safe lifting habits.

‍

• Involve Operations: Ask how layout or process changes could reduce physical strain. Adjusting shelf heights or relocating tools can prevent injuries without disrupting productivity.

‍

While these steps are a great starting point, having the right tools in place makes everything easier. Here’s how TuMeke helps you move faster and stay ahead of ergonomic risks. 

‍

How TuMeke Helps You Prevent Injuries Without Slowing Down

TuMeke was built for environments like yours: fast-paced, physically demanding, and always in motion. Our platform uses AI and your smartphone camera to scan how people move while they work. No wearables. No sensors. Just smart video.

‍

Here’s how we help:

‍

• Real-time analysis: Record a task and get immediate feedback on risk levels.
  
  
• Clear visual feedback: Risk scores and heat maps show exactly where strain is building.
  
  
• Coaching on the floor: Use the phone-based system to make quick changes during the shift, not after the fact.
  
  
• Enterprise-wide tracking: Manage ergonomic risks across all your sites in one dashboard.
  
  

National Safety Month is a chance to step back and look at the full picture of workplace safety, not just the obvious risks, but the ones that build quietly over time. TuMeke gives you the tools to bring ergonomics into focus and make it part of your daily operations, without slowing anything down.

‍

With real-time video analysis, simple mobile tools, and clear, actionable feedback, you can reduce injuries and protect your team where it matters most. Let’s make safety more than a once-a-year conversation. Let’s make it part of how we work, every single day

‍