Manual handling contributes directly to a significant percentage of work related accidents and injuries. Manual handling is an issue that must be addressed as an ongoing subject in the workplace and education and training is an important factor when managing risks especially manual handling risks.

This training program covers:
• Detailed description of manual handling
• The problems and how injuries are caused
• The types of injuries
• Steps to deal with manual handling & correct lifting techniques

DURATION: 12 Minutes

This training program comes with a Facilitators Guide and Questionnaire for your employees to complete and for you to keep on their records as confirmation of their manual handling training.

Please note – This training download is valid for 12 months from date of purchase and can only be accessed from the computer in which it is downloaded onto. We suggest downloading onto a laptop or the designated training computer and use of projector for classroom type delivery!

Once payment has been received the training download will be emailed to you with login details within 24 hours.

Price: $49.95

To purchase simply email me at joanne@safetyconcepts.com.au and I will organise immediately.

Understanding your back, the different types of back injuries and what generally causes them can help us to find better procedures to avoid back injuries during manual handling, when setting up workstations, etc.
 
Your back is supported by a spinal column. The spinal column is made up of vertebrae. Each of those vertebrae are supported by muscles, ligaments and tendons. And each of those vertebrae is cushioned by discs. The majority of back pain issues and injuries occur because one part of the body is weak or overworked and the back attempts to compensate. For example, the abdominal muscles may not be strong enough to carry sudden excessive weight around the waist, so the back must overcompensate to carry it, leading to back ache.

Let’s look at each part of the back in more detail.

Muscles

Muscular back pain is the most common form of back pain. It is most likely to occur when placing too much demand on those muscles – either by introducing a new activity that the muscles are not used to, or by increasing the workload (weight or time wise) over what the muscles are accustomed to. Injury can occur too when the muscles are cold. Just like a sprinting athlete would warm up the muscles of their legs and arms, work that emphasizes the back muscles should be proceeded by a warm up of those muscles.

Cramping or seizures of the back muscles are referred to as back spasms. 

Piriformis Syndrome is painful and is often caused by the bottom’s piriformis muscle pinching the sciatic nerve.

To avoid muscle pain and injury:

• Warm up thoroughly first
• Avoid repetitive tasks that put strain on the back (research if equipment can perform the job)
• Drink plenty of water as dehydration can lead to muscle spasms

If muscle ache occurs:

• Rest using good posture
• Apply gentle heat, eg. warm shower, heat pad, etc.
• Go for a short, relaxing walk

Ligaments

Ligaments are bands of fibrous material that connect bone to bone. They work as shock absorbers and prevent over movement/ over extention of the joints.

Injury through tearing a ligament can occur due to prolonged poor posture. The ligaments become overstretched due to the poor posture and then when sudden strain is placed on them, they can tear.

Damage to the ligaments of the back have been known to occur during taks such as digging or shovelling.

To avoid ligament injury:

• Practice good posture at all times
• Avoid tasks that put excessive strain on the back (research if equipment can perform the job)

Discs

Discs are like little gel cushions in between each vetebrae and the next. If you lean to one side the down-tilted side of each disc will be squashed and the up-tilted side of the disc will expand.

Pain and injury to the discs can occur when the spine is rotated, and by bending forward. More squashing of the disc would occur if you were to bend forward or rotate while lifing a heavy load.

To avoid disc injury:

• Practice good posture at all times
• Follow the correct lifting techniques – and never twist your body as you lift something. See The Art of Lifting

Tendons

Tendons are bands of fibrous material that connect muscle to bone. 

The most common injury relating to tendons is known as Tendonitis. This painful condition is from stress on a tendon whether it be through repeated motion, trauma to the body, or an imbalance in posture or motion.

To avoid tendon injuries:

• Allow time for the body to recover from any activity, new or old
• As with all other back issues, warm up before undertaking activity
• When starting a new activity, do it in small bouts – and increase the intensity or time ratio gradually – allow your body to adjust over time.

The big picture?

• Practice good posture at all times
• Be aware of your back and treat it with care
• Warm up before undertaking any activity that puts pressure on your back
• Rest and recover between activity
• Allow your body to adapt to new activities

This article has been supplied by Brad Matthews of Winning Safety.  Winning Safety uses a process that goes beyond simply observing behaviour. It is designed to encourage “active listening” and promote safety leadership especially by managers in the workplace. Brad believes that with the proper framework, an organisation can use safety as a mechanism to meet production and profitability objectives and develop a culture of openness and trust.

Manual tasks contribute to injuries affecting all parts of the body, particularly the back, shoulder and wrist. These are commonly called musculoskeletal disorders and account for more than half of the following:

• cost of workers’ compensation claims
• number of days lost from work
• work absences over six months.

According to data collected by the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC), performing some manual tasks can cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSD’s) which can lead to death, injury or disease.

Between July 1997 and June 2003, injuries caused by manual tasks at work resulted in;

• 437,852 compensation claims in Australia, or 
• 41.6 % of all compensation claims during that period, 
• a direct cost not counting indirect impacts (including long-term impacts on the quality of life of the injured worker) of $11.965 billion.
• an estimated 11.6 million lost working days a year.

A staggering 38% of musculoskeletal disorders relate to back injury and an additional 27% of MSD’s relate to shoulder, hand, wrist and finger injury through carrying out manual tasks.

As an employer, you are responsible for preventing work related injuries or disorders (MSD’s) caused by manual tasks.

MSD’s are a priority risk to your business costs;

• they affect large numbers of people across most job roles
• they have the potential to ruin people’s lives 
• they impose heavy costs on your business and on society.

Key points to remember about MSDs :

• you can do things to prevent or minimise MSDs
• prevention measures are cost effective 
• you cannot prevent all MSDs, so early reporting of symptoms, proper treatment and suitable rehabilitation is essential. 

What are the Risk Factors?

Risk factors causing MSDs can be found in virtually every workplace from commerce to construction.

Areas that can create a risk:

• repetitive and heavy lifting
• bending and twisting
• repeating an action too frequently
• uncomfortable working position
• exerting too much force
• working too long without breaks
• adverse working environment (e.g. hot, cold)
• psychosocial factors (e.g. high job demands, time pressures and lack of control)
• not receiving and acting upon reports of symptoms quick enough

Remember that the greater the number of risk factors you are exposed to, the higher your risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders.

The longer your exposure, the higher your risk.

Managing the Risk

Risk management for manual tasks involves a 3 step process aimed at preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Major stages in the risk management process include:

1. Risk identification: Identify the problem jobs/tasks which are likely to, or have caused injury.

2. Risk assessment: Investigate the problem jobs/tasks, determine the risk factors and evaluate them, assess their importance, and look for their causes.

3. Risk control: Decide on solutions, trial and implement them, and check later to see the changes are working.

Key Points:

• You can do things to prevent or minimise MSDs
• Prevention measures are cost effective
• Early Reporting is essential

Developing a Risk Management Strategy

Planning is critical to make sure controls for reducing risks in the workplace are implemented.

Successful programs aimed at reducing musculoskeletal disorders have five essential elements.

1. Safety Leadership.
2. Training.
3. Risk Management.
4. Rehabilitation.
5. Evaluation.
 
1. Safety Leadership
The most effective solution to reducing safety and health hazards is a combination of Management leadership and worker involvement.

In order to control and reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders, the management of the organisation must be committed to the program both financially and personally. The commitment includes listening to and acting on feedback given by the workers.

Employees take their cue and motivation from the management’s actions and responses to their feedback. Without employee commitment the return on a program investment will not be fully realised.

2. Training
Training provides the basis for consistent awareness, identification, analysis, targeting and control of musculoskeletal disorders hazards.

3. Risk Management
Management and workers must be aware of risk factors and hazards of their jobs and in their work environment that lead to musculoskeletal disorders.

Careful evaluation of the workplace identifies risk factors and hazards; including the use of checklists and registers to help document all observations.

Once the risk factors, hazards and injuries are identified and recorded, the OHS personnel, in collaboration with management, contractors and workers, have the facts to assess the risks and develop solutions, e.g., improve site housekeeping through the alteration of material delivery schedule, use self-raising platforms or buddy system for lifting, etc.

4. Rehabilitation
Effective injury management relies on the cooperative efforts of all participants – employers, workers, insurers, doctors and other health practitioners.

The longer a worker is away from work the less likely they will return. Replacement of a skilled person is expensive or, at times, difficult to impossible.

It is a benefit to the individual and employer to bring the injured worker back to alternate or reassigned duties as soon as medically appropriate. This may mean re-skilling or providing additional training.

Your Risk management strategy should outline how this is going to be addressed.

5. Program Evaluation
Evaluating the effectiveness of a program is just as important as implementing the program.

• Is your program reducing musculoskeletal disorders, hazards and risks? 
• Does an initial upsurge in musculoskeletal disorders reporting mean your workplace became less safe because of the program?
• Does this upsurge mean that a hidden population of injured workers has received treatment and will be returned to a healthier level of productivity and lifestyle?
• Have you successfully identified and targeted your MSD hazards?

Program evaluation is vital to validating your required outcomes and obligations.

For more information regarding this article or Workplace Health & Safety advice or training, please contact Brad Matthews on 0423 902 477, via email at brad [at] winningsafety [dot] com or visit Winning Safety

Thank you Brad.

Human Stress Factors

There are a significant number of factors that may impact on an individual’s perception of threats. These are termed stress factors. Again, each individual will experience, and respond to, these stress factors in different ways. Stress factors include:

• Task Related Stress Factors (directly connected to work performance)Physical Task Demands: include various physical characteristic requirements such as strength, flexibility, agility, height, etc. Specific details may include weights to be moved or lifted, heights and distances that weights need to be moved through, repetitive actions required, awkward or static postures that need to be maintained, types of hand grips, contact with mechanical conditions such as vibration and temperature, and so on.

  Perceptual, Cognitive and Psychomotor Task Demands: include factors such as concentration for close inspection, precise fine motor movements, speed and accuracy, task cycle time, work rate, etc.

  Overall Job Demands: include factors such as duration of working hours, quantity of work to be performed within given timeframes, access to rest or toilet breaks, task rotations, shift patterns, etc.

  Physical Environment Hazards: include factors such as constrained or confined spaces, noise, whole body vibration, working at heights, temperatures, lighting, floor surfaces, etc.

• Work Related Stress Factors (connected to the workplace environment)Psychosocial Environment: related to the level of:
  - Control over work tasks; eg: the difference between work rates controlled by conveyor lines compared to a tradesman having some autonomy over work rate.
  - Social support; relates to the degree of ‘membership’ in work teams and social groupings in the workplace.
  - Instrumental support; relates to the degree and nature of supervision, access to break times and toilet breaks.

  Employee Characteristics: relates to the individual states of stress, fatigue, and/or overall wellbeing of an individual whilst in the work environment.

• Social Stress Factors (connected with general life experiences and conditions)Relationships: states of marital, parental, sibling relationships

  Bereavement: loss of loved ones and associated perceptions of death and ‘afterlife’.

  Finances: related to the degree of financial stability and security

  Illness & Disease: related to both short and long term health issues, recovery rates and management processes. Includes ongoing medical conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, asthma, etc.

  Leisure and Lifestyle: related to social relationships and leisure activities. Includes factors such as use or abuse of alcohol and other drugs.

  Aging and Physical Changes: related to how individuals deal with the physical and emotional changes associated with the aging process. These include such factors as reducing flexibility/agility and mobility, hearing loss, changes in visual acuity, etc.

Stay tuned for the next part of Les’ research.

“Never lift what you can drag, never drag what you can roll, never roll what you can leave.”

People who hurt their backs often think the injury was a result of that one incident that caused immediate pain. But many back disorders often develop slowly over time as a result of repeated stress. Therefore it is imperative that good lifting practices be made part of the normal day to day procedures.

Before lifting the proposed object, ask these questions:

• Does the item need to be lifted manually? Is there another alternative? Can a dolly or forklift do just as well?
• Is the item safe to move? Do special gloves or procedures need to be used?
• How heavy is the item? Check the item before you plan to lift it. Push the object lightly with your hands or feet to see how easily it moves. This give gives you an idea of how heavy it is. (If you suspect that you will have to strain to carry the load, you’re probably right, and it’s too heavy.)
• If the item is a package, has it been packed correctly? Is the weight balanced? Are there loose pieces inside that may break or be damaged during the move? If the box tips can the loose items inside create an accident?
• Is the item easy to grip? Can handles be applied to help you lift the item safely?
• Where is the item being moved from? Is it easy to access? If the item is in a confined space, it may need to be dragged into the open before lifting safely.
• Where is the item being moved to?
• What route is intended? Is there a better one? Will the item fit through hallways, doorways and lift doors? Avoid walking on slippery, uneven surfaces while carrying something.
• Is the route clear?
• Do you need to stretch your legs and warm-up before you lift?

Once you’ve determined the most efficient plan for moving the item, follow these guidelines:

• Wear shoes with non-slip soles and low heels.
• Wear clothing that allows movement for bending, but is fitted so that there is no chance of tripping over it, or having parts of the material snagged on furniture.
• Clear a space around the item.
• Clear the route you’ll take.
• Check that no one is in the way.
• Stand close to the item, facing it.
• Spread feet apart about shoulder-width apart.
• Squat to lift and lower. Bend your knees. Do not bend at the waist.
• Keep back straight and chin down. Use you abdominal muscles to help keep your back straight.
• Your back doesn’t need to be perpendicular to the floor, as this can cause strain on the neck – allow the hips to hinge forward to a comfortable position as well as the knees.
• Ensure a tight grip below the item’s centre of gravity.
• Keep the item as close to the body as possible – never reach for the item.
• Bow back in and rise up with the head first.
• Lift with your legs and your arms – not your back.
• Keep movements smooth and slow – never jerky or fast.
• Carry items in both hands rather than one hand off to the side. This will decrease stress to the spine. 
• Do not twist. If you must turn, point toes in the direction you are headed and turn your entire body in that direction. Turn with your feet, not your body.
• Try to carry the load in the space between your shoulder and your waist. This puts less strain on your back muscles.
• Make sure you can see where you are walking. Never walk with items stacked so high that vision is obstructed.
• Put the weight down by keeping back straight, feet apart, bending at the knees.

Other Considerations:

• Pace yourself. Take many small breaks between lifts if you are lifting a number of things.
• Don’t overdo it. Never lift something that is too heavy for you.
• Don’t rely on a back belt for protection you. It hasn’t been proven that back belts can protect one from back injury.
• Take two or three trips rather than trying to take one overloaded trip.
• If you are lifting with other people ensure that you communicate before and during the lifting process
• When storing a heavy item, it’s better to store it at waist height rather than on the ground. This will avoid unnecessary bending when storing, or when needing to move the item again.

The process involves:

1. Conducting a risk assessment on manual tasks carried out in your workplace,
2. Looking at alternative ways to address any problems,
3. Choosing appropriate solutions, and
4. Then following up with a review to check that the solutions work.

The following is a systems approach to managing the risks associated with manual handling:

• Develop your own internal risk management strategy
• Know your legal obligations by reading the relevant state legislation
• Decide which measures can be taken to ensure everyone in the workplace fulfils their legal obligations
• Make someone responsible for implementing the control measures
• Monitor the measures to determine if the problem has been solved
• Keep a record of assessments and solutions.

Design and Implement

• Design workplaces and workstations to ensure safe, efficient flow of work and people, promoting correct postures.
• Ensure that work processes, tools or equipment do not pose risks to workers.
• Work with your suppliers to ensure that equipment, products, packaging and delivery methods do not contribute to the risk of injury to workers.
• Purchase mechanical devices to reduce the need for manual tasks.

Consult and Discuss

Talk and discuss with workers and safety representatives about the risk management strategy when:

• when purchasing new equipment or products
• when identifying tasks for assessment
• when evaluating control measures
• when checking that planned actions have occurred.

Training

• Train all workers in relation to the tasks that they are required to do. Include instruction on the safe use of tools/equipment. All workers should be trained in and responsible for risk assessment and implementing risk controls. Managers and supervisors should be competent relating to supervision and safe procdures in manual tasks. But don’t forget the contractors.
• Inform contractors of manual tasks requirements and check they have conducted risk assessments before carrying out tasks at your site. Make sure that contractors’ work does not increase the risks associated with tasks conducted by your workers.

Identify problems

• Look for potential or immediate safety problems when you introduce workplace changes or new machines.
• Critically examine work tasks if you get feedback on possible issues or worker complaints.
• Investigate all incidents or near misses, checking for patterns such as repeated injuries with one task.
• Use checklists to analyse risk factors.
• Look out for risk factors such as awkward postures, repetition and vibration.
• Decide which tasks need the most urgent attention.

Control the risks

• Look for permanent changes that can be part of the system and not easily changed or avoided.
• Avoid double handling of items.
• Provide mechanical aids.
• Redesign the task to remove risks.
• Identify the low hanging fruit, changes that are possible immediately. Start with these and work on to those that may take time to implement.
• Document your risk control decisions for each task assessed, and set timelines for changes.
• Trial the changes in consultation with workers before making them permanent. 

Review

• Check that the various control measures have been put in place at the agreed times.
• Review incident reports.
• Consult with workers and workplace health and safety representatives.
• Monitor worker satisfaction and all feedback on handling issues.
• Regular audit by independent third party experts.