[TITLE: Manual Materials Handling at Industrial Workplaces]
Richard Wells: Manual materials handling is moving, lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling
of materials. Here at the University of Waterloo, we host a centre that includes almost all
[TITLE: Centre for Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders] of the researchers here, in Ontario, that
are dedicated to the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders.
Richard: Musculoskeletal disorders are pain, discomfort and injuries to the different tissues
of the body, be that bones, ligaments, tendons or muscles.
An ergonomist is a professional who's had special training in fitting jobs to people.
Ken Brown: "So we're just going to be retrieving from, just demonstrating an above-shoulder lift…"
My name's Ken Brown. I'm an Ergonomist with the Ministry of Labour for the Western region.
Musculoskeletal disorders in Ontario workplaces make up over 40 percent of lost time injuries.
Melanie Wegler: I'm Melanie Wegler. I'm an Industrial Health & Safety Inspector with
the Ministry of Labour in the Western region. Today, we're at the University of Waterloo,
visiting the central stores area and food services.
We're doing a visit to show you what an inspector would look at when performing a
manual material handling visit.
Ken: Manual material handling occurs in a wide variety of workplaces across all sectors.
"Hi. I'm Melanie with the Ministry of Labour. This is my colleague, Ken Brown."
Melanie: Typically, I would do an inspection on my own. If I identify any hazards specific
to ergonomics, I would invite an ergonomist to accompany me to assist in determining what
those hazards are and what next steps need to be done by the employer.
When I visit a workplace, I would ask to see a management representative as well as a worker representative.
"We'll start in your office and we'll do an administrative review."
"…so how many injuries would you say you've had in the last year related to MSD hazards?"
Melanie: I would ask to see accident stats. What type of injuries is the workplace having
and what steps the employer has taken to reduce those risks to workers.
Ken: We would cover off policies and procedures involving manual material handling as well
as any training components.
"And the Joint Health & Safety Committee, how are they involved?"
Workplace rep: "Basically a lot of risks are brought up by the staff, themselves."
Ken: "What we'd like to do now is go out on the floor and basically target those areas
that have the largest objects or the most awkward and target those areas for our inspection.
Melanie: When I do a physical inspection of the workplace, I would watch how the workers
are working. Are they lifting product? How heavy is the product that they're lifting?
Melanie: "So, Joel, how much would this box weigh?" Joel: "That box would be about 75 pounds."
Melanie: "Okay. And how do workers then transport this, this box?"
Joel: "We like to transport it using a pallet truck."
Melanie: Where are they lifting it to? How are they storing this product? How are they
retrieving this product? If the product is heavy, how far do they have to carry this
product? Are they using lift assists?
Ken: It's a common misconception that the weight, or mass of the object, is the only
factor. In fact, we would want to be looking at where the object is located, how high,
or the distance that they're moving that object through as well as how far away the object
is from the person that's handling it. And another important factor is how frequently
the lift is being performed.
When I'm observing a task, I like to look at where the body positioning is, if it's
involving twisting, leaning, if the person is performing the push or pull with
their entire body weight, the amount of force that's involved.
Ken: "I notice you got quite a few carts. Is there a regular inspection that goes on for the
condition of those carts?"
Workplace rep: "Our receiver actually that's one of his duties, is to make sure that they're in good working order"
Melanie: Are workers pushing them, rather pulling them? How high are they stacking products
on these carts?
I would also check aisle ways to ensure that workers can travel through aisle ways freely,
unobstructed. Workers need to ensure, prior to making a lift, that they're aware of the
hazard there. Is this a two-man job? Do I require a hoist or a lifting device to assist
me? How far do I have to carry this product? How long do I have to walk, holding it?
Ken: Some of the options that are available for lifting, pushing or pulling involve lift
assists, scissor lifts, lift tables…
Melanie: …pump carts, lift trucks, adjustable tables. There might be hoists available or
cranes for heavier objects to assist workers.
Workplace safety is everybody's responsibility. MSD hazards are preventable in the workplace
if everybody works together to identify those risks and to have controls in place to address
those risks.
For more information, you can visit the Ontario Ministry of Labour website.
Ken: An MSD Prevention Guideline can be downloaded at our website. [TITLE: Please visit the website for more information | www.ontario.ca/msd]
[TITLE: www.healthandsafetyontario.ca/Resources/Topics/MSDs.aspx]
SPECIAL THANKS: University of Waterloo