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Friday - May 24, 2013

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Pipeline project creates unease in Westmoreland County

For a growing number of workers, the most transformational workplace gadget isn't the iPhone 5 or a mini tablet computer. It's something much more basic: a pedometer.

Eager to cut health care costs and improve productivity, large employers such as Domino's Pizza, General Electric and Huntington National Bank, are embracing the devices for their workforce, holding contests to see who can walk the most steps and offering rewards, such as T-shirts, cash and reduced health insurance premiums.

“It's become part of the fabric of our culture,” said Patti Wilmot, Domino's executive vice president of PeopleFirst. “It creates a lot of camaraderie and a lot of teamwork.”

Last year, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based pizza chain started offering pedometers to its 3,000 employees who are eligible for benefits. Today, nearly half of them are using the fitness trackers. Every step they take can help them earn up to $325 from the company.

Jennifer Balliett, Domino's benefits manager, said that 40(PERCENT) of employees who started wearing pedometers have reached what is considered to be an active or highly active fitness level.

“Healthy employees are happier, more productive employees,” said Andrew Gutman, chief financial officer at the Farbman Group, a Southfield, Mich.-based real estate services firm that is buying $25 pedometers for each of its 200 employees.

Domino's and Huntington offer employee pedometer programs created by Virgin HealthMiles, a Massachusetts-based provider of workplace wellness programs. Its pedometer programs are used by 150 large companies and organizations, including half a dozen in Michigan such as the East China School District and Gardner-White.

The Virgin HealthMiles pedometer program sets high goals for participants, challenging them to reach 7,000 steps a day, the equivalent of 3.5 miles. It takes 2,000 steps to reach a mile.

“It's a core part of overall healthy behavior change,” said Tom Abshire, Virgin HealthMiles' senior vice president of marketing. “Every day I know what my goal is.”

For employers, the main drawback for pedometers is cost. Though these devices can be found at nearly every price level, reliable and accurate ones that allow users to upload their walking activity to their computers usually cost about $25. Virgin HealthMiles created its own $26 pedometer.

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