Delivering the news product has not traditionally been characterized as heavy, hazardous or otherwise demanding physical work. In the early days, final packaging and delivery was placed in the hands of entrepreneurial young boys. They folded the papers they would toss from the backs of their bicycles.

But that enterprise changed, and today adults drive vans and cars to deliver a
product that is a relative behemoth! In some cities, daily editions routinely weigh in at one or two pounds, and advertising-laden Sunday editions often reach six pounds - closing in on nine pounds in the biggest cities during peak retail seasons.

All of these shifting trends point to an interesting question: Could the advertising
inserts that produce lifeblood revenue also produce ergonomic injury and put cherished newspaper liability protections at risk?

The Human Factor
Common sense tells us that a heavier product takes more strength to handle. As newspapers grow and encase more inserts, they not only weigh more, they become awkward to handle. Carriers trying to fold and stuff a paper into a plastic bag struggle to grip a heavier product whose glossy, four-color “insides” tend to slip out. (And that raises yet another concern: advertising inserts that never make it to the consumer because they’ve slipped out of the newspaper, littering the dealer’s shop or carpeting the carrier’s vehicle.)

Thanks to preprinted inserts and special sections, it’s not uncommon for independent workers to begin manual assembly of Sunday’s newspapers on Friday evenings or early Saturday. By the time Sunday deliveries begin, these workers - many of them drivers, also - are too fatigued from handling hundreds of pounds of heavy, awkward product.

In fact, practices and guidelines can be vastly different. Production employees in one particular large newspaper facility may not be required to perform more than 2,000 foot-pounds of work in an eight-hour shift, or about 250 to 300 foot-pounds per hour. Contrast this restriction with the independent contract carrier who is responsible for preparing 300 papers in a two-hour period every night. Depending on the size of the edition, that carrier might perform 450 to 3,000 foot-pounds of work in a two-hour period.

Lifting, packaging, and throwing a heavier, more awkward newspaper product translates into a dramatically altered task and new ergonomic risks. Increasing
ergonomic injury translates into increasing health care costs, and it may even present an opportunity for lawsuits or other legal action.

In short, while advertising inserts play a key role in keeping newspapers profitable, they also contribute to ergonomic hazards.

The Cost of Increasing Revenue
Growth in advertising brings in much-needed revenue to sustain production and keep subscription costs in line with what the market will bear. The increasing volume of advertising inserts raises questions:

• Has the increasing volume of advertising inserts altered the traditional ratio of advertising to editorial content that has been the basis for newspapers' special protection?
• By increasing the burden on the carrier - via heavier, bulkier, more awkward papers, have newspapers also increased their own liability?
• Have we allowed profitable inserts to paint the newspaper industry into the proverbial corner? Will ergonomic issues and the changing ratio of news to advertising mean the long-standing legal protections could face new scrutiny if injured workers and their lawyers decide to challenge the system in the name of commercialism and ergonomics?

Is There a Viable Solution?
The solution lies in automation that gives the individual carrier a single, complete newspaper product to deliver. Automation provides a solution that enhances profits and tackles ergonomic concerns.

Automation does require capital, but the cost of entry is management and the payback swift. Some newspapers opt to work out financial arrangements with their carriers to make it cost-effective for the carrier to pay for the equipment over time.

Technology to automate newspaper assembly and packaging exists. Proactive newspaper management can take steps right now that could reduce their vulnerability to legal action and at the same time produce benefits. By automating the packaging phase of newspaper delivery and dramatically limiting manual labor, newspapers:

• Proactively address growing ergonomics concerns, reducing the potential for OSHA citations and restrictions.
• Free up carriers to focus their attention on safe delivery. Carriers experience less fatigue, less stress from time pressures, and fewer distractions from multitasking behind the steering wheel.
• Speed up the preparation cycle.
• Access greater choice and flexibility in packaging their newspaper product.
• Improve customer satisfaction, thanks to fewer subscriber complaints and maintaining reasonable subscription costs.
• Create opportunities to increase revenue through new services that appeal to advertisers who find themselves competing with direct mail and Internet venues. Automation can be used to add sticky notes to the first page of every section - not just the front page, and it can be used to add product samples to the paper. The result? Advertisers gain competitive advantage by bringing sensory aspects — taste, feel, smell — and experiences to consumers.

Automation certainly is nothing new to the newspaper business. From computers and digital cameras that produce the news, to computer-controlled, high-tech presses, technology finds a home in the newspaper industry. Why exclude the distribution system from similar progress?

Automation has all the makings of a classic win-win all around, benefiting advertisers, subscribers, and carriers.

Summary
The newspaper product has changed dramatically while the newspaper distribution process has remained static. For the most part, the burden of change is borne by the carriers and workers. As long as newspapers benefit from maintaining separation between production and delivery, this arrangement makes sense.

However, as the newspaper product becomes more difficult to package and handle manually - and given the link between these difficulties and the advertising portion of the product - newspapers could find themselves vulnerable to legal actions related to ergonomics and accident liability. If newspaper management responds proactively to the situation, they may be positioned to neutralize these threats and at the same time enhance productivity, advertising revenue, and customer satisfaction. The heart of the opportunity lies in automating the final packaging process and lifting the burden and ergonomic risks off the carrier workforce.

If the potential for ergonomic injury and legal action doesn't tip the balance, the ratio of news to advertising could. Either way, the price of inaction could well be the loss of newspaper publishers' most valued protections.

Newspapers risk losing their safe haven from lawsuits unless they accept responsibility for furnishing the delivery workforce - whether employees or independent contractors - with a single product, ready for delivery. Shift the burden of assembly and preparation to machines, making the carriers accountable for on-time delivery of a quality product.
Now that would be great news.

To get the whole story, read Issue #2 of the BIG STUFF® NEWS and other articles at www.bigstuff-stepper.com.

(Read Neglect, Greed and Indifference.)