MSDs: First MOL Blitz of 2012

January 12, 2012

In February, the Ministry of Labour will conduct a month-long inspection blitz on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This MSD blitz, the ministry’s third, will concentrate on manual material handling, especially in the industrial, construction, mining, and health care sectors.

MSDs are a primary compensable injury in every sector involving manual material handling and repetitive movement. By taking steps to reduce the risks of MSD injuries now, your workplace can better protect your workers and be prepared for the upcoming inspection.

MSDs are injuries of the muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage, or spinal discs. They result from forceful exertion, awkward body positions, hand-arm and whole-body vibration, contact stress, and repetitive tasks. MSDs often take time to develop and can lead to chronic back pain, shoulder problems, wrist tendonitis etc.

In Ontario, 2009 claims statistics show that MSDs accounted for 44% of all lost-time claims, 44% of all lost-time days, and 41% of all lost-time claim costs. In 2009, this translated into 913,000 days lost and more than 28,000 Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) claims worth $112 million. These injuries cost companies money, and cost workers pain and suffering.

If an Inspector Arrives Here's what you can expect: the inspector will perform an administrative review including looking at:

• how your workplace lives up to its roles under the Internal Responsibility System
• your MSD injury statistics
• joint health and safety committee (JHSC) minutes
• written procedures and training on MSD hazards, signs, symptoms and controls.

Employers are required by law to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers from hazards, including those that may result in MSD injuries. For more on employers’ obligations, refer to the MSD prevention guideline (see “ Downloads,” below). MOL inspectors don't wait for excuses, or even reasons, for non-compliance. The best strategy is preparation:

• familiarize yourself with MSD hazards in your workplace
• perform your own workplace risk assessments
• have a well-documented MSD program visibly in place, and implement MSD-specific strategies, tools and training
• call your safety association to review hazards before an inspector comes knocking (see “How we can help”).

Implementing MSD Controls Reducing the risk of musculoskeletal injuries at your workplace involves recognizing, assessing and controlling the hazards. These controls should be specific to the type of work you do. Here are a few suggestions:

• early in the design phase of a new process or task, apply ergonomic principles, e.g., reducing
• repetitive movements, forceful movements, and fixed or awkward positioning
• provide material handling equipment, such as carts, dollies, pallet jacks, or manual forklifts, and
• ensure workers receive appropriate training
• train workers on proper lifting techniques
• implement safer handling alternatives. For example:
• avoid lifting loads from the floor by storing objects above standing knuckle height and below standing shoulder height
  • avoid working on the floor, which usually requires kneeling and bending your back forward, by using a workbench to raise the work height
  • minimize work above the shoulders. Shoulder and arm muscles tire more quickly than those in the back and legs
  • encourage more trips with lighter loads. Moving smaller weights more frequently puts less stress on the back than moving larger weights
• implement an exercise program. It can help prevent MSDs and promote general good health
• evaluate the effectiveness of these controls once they have been implemented, and adjust as indicated.

Learnings from Previous MSD Blitzs The ministry conducted blitzes for two months in fall 2010 and one month in spring 2009. Here’s an at-a-glance look at the results.

2009 and 2010 MSD Blitz Results
Year	Visits/Orders	Focus (Industrial Sector)	Most Common Orders
2009	1,593/4,541	Handling tasks, e.g., receiving and storage of products• how they were stored on racks• ease of access to products in walk-in refrigerators/ freezers• how products were transported throughout the facility• cashiers’ work stations• written policies and procedures• related training and supervision	Providing information, instruction and supervision to workers• conducting a risk assessment• having a written policy or program for doing certain hazardous tasks• ensuring workers are not endangered when handling materials• developing measures / procedures in consultation with the JHSC• putting measures and procedures in writing
2010	3,550/8,851	Manual lifting and carrying on ladders• manual lifting of heavy objects by more than one worker• unnecessarily repetitive manual lifting, pushing, carrying• use and transportation of work carts • layout of cashier workstations	Training• maintaining equipment• keeping floors free from obstacles • materials handling• taking every precaution reasonable under the circumstances for protecting workers

What the Law Requires: Numerous sections under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and regulations relate to MSD prevention and ergonomics. Among them are

• 25 2(a) — provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker
• 25 1(b) — employer shall ensure that equipment provided by the employer is maintained in good condition
• 25(2)(h) — employer shall take every precaution reasonable for the protection of a worker
• 45 (a) of the Industrial Establishments Regulation (O. Reg. 851) — the employer shall ensure that the objects required to be lifted, carried or moved in the bagging area, shall be lifted, carried or moved in such a way and with such precautions and safeguards as will ensure that the lifting, carrying or moving of the bags does not endanger the safety of any worker
   

How we can help Workplace Safety North offers:

• MSD-Related Courses
  General Training: Designed to provide participants with practical advice and tools that can be used to identify and reduce/eliminate exposure to workplace ergonomic risk factors
  
  Half day training courses
  • MSD Awareness
  • Office Ergonomics
  
  MSD Prevention Workshop – 1 day course:
  • Based on the MSD Guideline and the Participatory Ergonomics (PE) approach: A hands-on session providing a thorough understanding of what MSDs are and how best to recognize and assess them. The participants will learn the “why” of MSDs through a series of examples


• Downloads & Products:
  • WSN Ergonomic Resources – Complete list of PDFs for MSDs prevention including: Prevention Toolbox, Resource Manual, Guidelines, Employee Discomfort Survey and Inspections/
    
    http://www.workplacesafetynorth.ca/ergo/index.html
    Musculoskeletal Disorders Safety Meeting CD
     
• Consulting Services. Our ergonomic specialists and consultants work with you and your staff to identify the most effective MSD prevention solutions, including:
  • ergonomics assessments
  • ergonomic consulting - implementation of MSD prevention and ergonomics strategies and programs
  • physical demands analyses