MSD Solutions Lab Year in Review

The MSD Solutions Lab is committed to creating safer workplaces and healthier communities around the world by making musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs, a problem of the past. As we begin a new year, we want to reflect on some of the impactful initiatives, pioneering research and innovation, and more that the MSD Solutions Lab achieved in 2023.

Growing MSD Pledge Community

In addition to celebrating the one-year anniversary of the charter MSD Pledge program, which covers more than 2.8 million employees and focuses on reducing MSD risks and subsequent injuries by 25% by 2025, the MSD Pledge 2.0 launched this past October as the next evolution of this industry-first call-to-action to transform workplace safety beyond 2025.

Learn more about this global movement and join the nearly 200 organizations committed to reducing MSD risk and enhancing the physical and psychological wellbeing of all workers.

MSD Solutions Lab Year-end Message

Sarah Ischer, MSD Solutions Lab Senior Program Manager, shares 2023 important milestones and offers gratitude to all who have contributed to the success of the program.

Number of Pledgees

● 186 as of Dec. 1, 2023

Top Five Industries Represented

● Manufacturing
● Professional, scientific, technical services
● Transportation, warehousing
● Construction
● Health care, social assistance

Number of Employees Impacted

● 2.8 million

Safety Innovation Challenge

The MSD Solutions Lab proudly hosted the second-annual Safety Innovation Challenge at the NSC Congress & Expo in New Orleans. Building on the lab’s pillars of global collaboration and innovative thinking, the event convened top technology providers from around the globe to spotlight new safety solutions to prevent upper-extremity MSDs.

The Future of EHS

The Future of EHS 2024, hosted in February, provided an opportunity to network, see the latest safety innovations and EHS best practices, participate in education sessions and more. The MSD Solutions Lab again had a major presence there, leading a general session, technical session and fireside chat. MSD Solutions Lab, in partnership with the Work to Zero initiative, hosted the Safety Technology Pavilion, an immersive, curated experience with exciting and impactful tech solutions in both MSD risk and fatality prevention.

New MSD Research

Continuing to advance research efforts to help employers uncover effective interventions that may help reduce MSDs, the MSD Solutions Lab published its second white paper, Emerging Technologies for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders, on MSD solutions and the importance of broader adoption. In addition, the lab released its inaugural MSD Solutions Index Pledge Community Report on MSD Pledge member insights over the first year.

New Grants

The MSD Solutions Lab introduced the Research to Solutions (R2S) and MSD Solutions Pilot Grant 1.0 programs – committing nearly $300,000 – to spur the research and innovation of practical, scalable MSD safety solutions.

Events

● MSD Pledge 2.0 Summit: Empowering Organizations to Transform Workplace Safety
● Workplace Safety Summit: Insights and Actions to Prevent the Most Common Injury
● Town Hall: Identifying and Advancing Equitable Solutions for Musculoskeletal Risk Management
● Town Hall: Emerging Technologies: Putting MSD Solutions into Practice
● Town Hall: Preventing Work-related MSDs: Interventions and Directions for the Future