MANUAL TASK RISK ASSESSMENTS

Transcription

1 MANUAL TASK RISK ASSESSMENTS Rowan Macauly 30 August, 2016

2 Manual Task Risk Assessments are often one of the first steps in an organisation s injury prevention program. Before committing resources to a blanket Manual Task Risk Assessments for all roles, you might first want to start with high risk roles. Your workplace injury data will give you your starting point. Compile a list of all workplace injuries for the previous months including both minor (first aid only) and major (accepted worker s compensation claims) injuries. Review this data to identify what types of injuries occurred, the mechanisms of injury and the incidents that cause injury. Study this data for trends. For example, if several employees who sustained a lower back injuries shared a common work area, then it would be worth investigating this work area to identify any hazardous manual tasks being performed. Trends also help in deciding which manual tasks should be reviewed as a priority. It is important to note that not all hazardous manual tasks will be associated with reported incidents, therefore it is important to perform your own consultation with employees and workplace review to uncover any hazardous manual tasks. Knowing Which Data To Collect If you collect too much data, you run the risk of losing useful insights in the sea of information, not to mention the extra time required to collect and maintain your data. On the other hand, if you don t capture enough data, you risk missing out on discovering patterns in your injury data. The following list fulfills reporting requirements across all industries: Worker Details Age, Gender; Employment Details FT/PT, Job Role, Length Of Employment, Duty At The Time Of Accident; Nature of the Injury What happened? (Sprain, fracture, laceration, psychological); Bodily location of the Injury Which part of the body was affected; Mechanism of the Injury How did it happen? (Eg. Repetitive movement, overstraining while lifting); Agency or Cause of Incident (Power hoist, Forklift); Classification of Injury First Aid Injury (FAI), Lost Time Injury (LTI) and/or Medical Treatment Injury (MTI); Total Injury Frequency Rate (TIFR) = Total number of incidents / Total number of hours worked; Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) = Total number of lost time injuries / Total number of hours worked;

3 Knowing What To Consider Now that you have reviewed your injury data and conducted a workplace review to determine the high risk roles, you can perform your Manual Task Risk Assessment. When performing a Manual Task Risk Assessment, it is important to use a tool that considers the following: Functional Capacity of the Worker: Does the worker have the functional capacity to perform the requirements of the task? Has the worker s functional capacity been tested? Are there mechanical aides available to the worker? WORK Organisation Manua l TASK Require d WORKER Functional Capacity FACTORS AFFECTING Forces Movements Postures Exposure Task WOR K Method Tools &Plant WORK Environment Workload, Movements, Postures, Exposure: Are the workloads repetitive, sustained or sudden? Are the movements repetitive, awkward or sudden? What are the ranges of movement for the task (height, distance moved)? Is the worker required to perform their task using sustained or awkward postures? Is the worker exposed to noise, vibration, dust or chemicals in performing the task? Manual Tasks Required: What tasks are included in the role? How many workers are involved in that task? What are the high risk loads, movements, postures and exposure levels in that task?

4 Work Method: How is the task achieved? What steps are involved within the task? What sequence are the steps performed? Within what timeframes are the steps performed? Is there an adequate provision for breaks for the worker? Tools and Plant used: Are the tools/plant a potential danger to the worker or other workers? Does the worker require training or experience to operate the tool/plant? Is the worker competent in the use of that tool/plant? Work Environment: What environmental factors (heat, humidity, light intensity) affect the worker while performing their manual task? What other environmental factors is the worker exposed to (radiation, vibration, dust, noise, chemicals)? Work Organisation: Is management proactive in helping workers successfully manage potentially hazardous manual tasks? Are all employees actively involved in continually improving the safety of the workplace at all levels? Knowing What Tool To Use A good tool to use when performing a Manual Task Risk Assessment, is one that all staff can participate in and requires little training. Two popular tools that fulfil these criteria are PErForM and MANTRA. PErForM Participative Ergonomics for Manual Tasks (PErForM) is a simple manual task risk management program based on participative ergonomics. PErForM is an internationally recommended approach for reducing musculoskeletal disorders. The PErforM program provides a framework to help employers engage with workers at all levels to identify, assess and control manual tasks risks within their workplace. It has been used successfully in a wide range of industries and can be applied to most types of hazardous manual tasks. However, PErforM is not recommended for people in animal handling roles or computer workstation assessments. ManTRA The Manual Task Risk Assessment (ManTRA) tool is intended for assessments to be undertaken by a team, including employees who perform the task and staff responsible for manual task risk management. ManTRA looks at tasks as a whole, rather than individual task elements and focuses on a specific person performing a task, rather than people generally.

5 The aim of ManTRA is for the assessor to make a judgment regarding the severity of each characteristic of the task at each region for the task as a whole. The text which corresponds to the numeric codes is provided as a guide only. Knowing Which Provider To Use You may choose to engage a Service Provider to design and execute your entire Injury Prevention Program or you may prefer them to simply train your management and manual staff to perform risk assessments. Either way, it is important to engage a provider who has experience with performing manual task risk assessments and who understands your industry from both an injury management and injury prevention perspective.