Under Work Health and Safety laws, employers are required to manage risks associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) resulting from hazardous manual tasks.
In mining environments, specific risks include:
- less-than-adequate design of mining equipment, including the provision of access for operation and maintenance
- characteristics and storage of tools and other equipment that are not fit-for-purpose
- work organisation and planning of systems of work that are not the most favourable, including rosters, shutdown deadlines and overtime
- difficult work environments including uneven, wet, muddy ground and road surfaces, vibration, limited access to and around equipment, poorly lit work areas, limited visibility from vehicle and machinery cabs and glare from the sun or artificial lighting.
These risks can lead to a range of injuries including strains and sprains, back injuries and even nerve damage. MSDs can develop suddenly or over time due to factors like overexertion, repetitive movements, posture or excessive force.
To mitigate these risks, effective systems of work and ergonomic task planning are essential. The New South Wales Resources Regulator has compiled a list of five steps to manage and prevent MSDs.
Step 1: Gather information. The best way to source information to help identify hazardous manual tasks is to consult with workers and systematically examine available information.
Step 2: Group tasks according to operational areas. Different operational groups in mining may have different loading and demands. Consideration also needs to be given to the physiological impacts of the hazard manual task such as working in hot and humid conditions.
Step 3: Review the risk factors. This will make it far easier to determine the root cause or source of the musculoskeletal risk.
Step 4: Assess risk associated with the hazardous manual task. When assessing the risk ensure the most appropriate risk assessment checklist is used. For example, undertaking a risk assessment of haul truck operation in an open cut mine would require a tool covering vibration, sedentary posture and vehicle design and access.
Step 5: Develop and implement controls for the musculoskeletal risks. Controls should eliminate risks rather than relying on people to do the right things.
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