This paper provides a cost-benefit analysis of the passage from a mechanical to a manual handling system that took place in the early 1990s at the Société des Alcools du Québec warehouse in Montreal. In particular, this change was aimed at reducing workplace accidents among packers. After evaluating the costs of the program, we present a rigorous econometric analysis to assess how many accidents have been prevented by the change so as to compute the direct and indirect costs avoided as a result of such accident reduction. We show that the demechanization of the handling system has indeed been profitable for the firm.