Not rushing work

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# Back Injury Prevention (cont.) ## How can we decrease the demands? (cont.) - Change the type of movement required. Lowering objects causes less strain than lifting. Pulling objects is easier than carryingthem. Pushing is less demanding than pulling. - Change work area layouts. Reducing the horizontal and vertical distances of lifting substantially lowers handling demands. Reducing the travel distances for carrying, pushing or pulling also decreases work demands. - Assign more time for repetitive handling tasks. More time reduces the frequency of handling and allows for more work/rest periods. - Alternate heavy tasks with lighter ones to reduce the build-up of fatigue. ## How can we reduce stressful body movements when handling materials? It is important that tasks are designed to allow the worker to do tasks without excessive reaching, bending, and twisting. These body motions are particularly dangerous and can cause back injury even when not combined with handling loads. - Provide all materials at a work level that is adjusted to the worker's body size. - Eliminate deep shelves to avoid bending. - Ensure sufficient space for the entire body to turn. - Locate objects within easy reach. - Ensure that there is clear and easy access to the load. - Use handles or have a good grip whenever possible. - Use slings and hooks to move loads that do not have handles. - Balance contents of containers. - Use rigid containers. - Change the shape of the load so the load can be handled close to the body. ## Why is the pace of work important? Pace of work, particularly when externally imposed, may significantly contribute to the worker's discomfort, and consequently to the onset of musculoskeletal injuries. Generally speaking, pressure to work at a certain pace creates the mental need to work in a hurry. This perception, in turn, creates tension not only in the mind but also in the body. Tensed muscles are much more prone to injury. Back Injury Prevention CC…

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# Enclosure and Isolation (cont.) ## Work Practices (cont.) - Keeping equipment well maintained. - Preparing and training for emergency response for incidents such as spills, fire, or employee injury. ## Education and Training Employee education and training on how to conduct their work safely is a critical element of any complete workplace health and safety program. Training must cover not only how to do the job safely but it must also ensure that workers understand the hazards and risks of their job, and the controls in place to protect them. It must also provide them with information on how to protect themselves and co-workers. ## Good Housekeeping Good housekeeping is essential to prevent the accumulation of hazardous or toxic materials (e.g., build-up of dust or contaminant on ledges, or beams), or hazardous conditions (e.g., poor stockpiling). For more information about workplace housekeeping, please see the OSH Answers document Workplace Housekeeping - Basic Guide. For more information about combustible dust, please see the OSH Answers document Combustible Dusts. Figure 4 Emergency Preparedness Hazard and Risk - Hierarchy of Controls CCOHS

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# Back Injury Prevention (cont.) ## How can we improve the environment to reduce the risk for injury due to material handling? (cont.) More details about working and doing manual material handling activities in hot and cold environments are available in CCOHS publications Groundskeepers Safety Guide, Working in Hot Environments, and Cold Weather Worker's Safety Guide. ## How effective is pre-placement screening in back injury prevention? The objective of pre-placement screening is to try to determine if an individual is likely to be injured by activities of their work. There is limited research available to help determine the effectiveness of these measures. In general, it appears that the screening is more accurate when job specific tasks can be included or evaluated. ## How can education and training be used to help prevent back injuries? When combined with work design, education and training are an important element in the prevention of injuries. Part of this education and training also includes showing the worker how to actively contribute to the prevention of injuries. A program should: - Make the worker aware of the hazards of manual material handling. - Demonstrate ways to reduce unnecessary stress. - Train workers in appropriate material handling techniques Instruction on how to lift "properly" can be a controversial issue. While there are many guidelines there is no single correct way to perform a lift. Because of this fact, on-site, task specific training is essential. Some general lifting techniques include: - Plan the lift- remove obstacles from the path that will be travelled. - Prepare to lift by warming up the muscles. - Stand close to the load, facing the way you intend to move. - Use a wide stance to gain balance. - Ensure a good grip on the load. - Maintain the natural curve in the back (helps the mechanical forces to be distributed more evenly over the spine). - Tighten abdominal muscles. - Bend the knees (removes forces …

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# Back Injury Prevention (cont.) ## Why is the pace of work important? (cont.) For example, the pace of work is related to the frequency of a lift. Lifting equations, such as the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation, use this factor as one of the ways to determine the impact of a lift. Assessments include not just how many lifts are preformed, but the amount of time there is to rest between lifts. It would be ideal if workers could work at their own pace and have some freedom to take a rest break when they start feeling the effects of fatigue. However, this option might be impractical. It seems reasonable to incorporate two additional 15-minute breaks, mid-morning and mid-afternoon, in addition to the 30-minute lunch break. If that schedule is still not feasible, shorter but more frequent breaks can do as well. It is also important that people new to a particular job or task be given time to adjust by allowing them more breaks. ## How can we improve the environment to reduce the risk for injury due to material handling? The design of the work environment is an important element for back injury prevention. - Illuminate the work area at a level of 200 lux. - Use task lights or other additional light sources to improve the ability to see clearly where the material handling requires fine visual discrimination. - Use angular lighting and colour contrast to improve depth perception. This lighting technique helps the worker where the material handling involves climbing stairs or moving in passageways. When the material handling tasks are done outdoors, the temperature conditions including the humidex (in hot weather) or wind-chill factor (in cold weather) have to be monitored very closely. - Reduce tasks by half when the temperature exceeds 28°C. - Stop when the temperature exceeds 40°C. - Restrict to the minimum possible when wind-chill drops below -25°C. - Stop when wind-chill drops to -35°C. - Wear properly designed clothing to decrease heat absorption by …

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# Back Injury Prevention (cont.) ## How can education and training be used to help prevent back injuries? (cont.) - Lift the load close to the body. - Lift smoothly without jerking. - Keep the load close to the body, where possible. - Breathe through the lift. - Do not tense muscles. - Do not twist or side bend while lifting. - Do not perform the lift if you are not certain that you can handle the load safely. It is also important that workers: - Take advantage of rest periods to relax tired muscles; this rest prevents fatigue from building up. - Report discomforts experienced during work; reporting will help to identify hazards and correct working conditions. Know how to recognize a manual material handling hazard and report concerns. Finally, there is an aspect of training that cannot be overlooked if training is to be part of an effective prevention program. Workers should be educated that muscles, tendons and ligaments are not prepared to meet the physical stress of handling tasks when they are not "warmed up." Pulls, tears or cramps are more likely when stretched or contracted suddenly under such conditions. These injuries can lead to more serious and permanent injury if physically stressful work is continued. Warming up and mental readiness for physically demanding tasks are important for any kind of material handling, but particularly for occasional tasks where the worker is not accustomed to handling loads. Fact sheet last revised: 2023-01-18 ## Disclaimer Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information, CCOHS does not guarantee, warrant, represent or undertake that the information provided is correct, accurate or current. CCOHS is not liable for any loss, claim, or demand arising directly or indirectly from any use or reliance upon the information. Back Injury Prevention CCOHS