What are MSDs?
Musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) is a term used to cover conditions affecting your joints, bones and muscles. They can range from minor injuries to long-term conditions and affect almost one in three of the UK population in some form or another.
Work-related MSDs affect the back, neck and shoulders as well as the upper and lower limbs. Common symptoms include pain, stiffness, limited movement, and disability, which affect quality of life and independence.
Causes of MSDs
The risk of MSDs in the stone fabrication industry is quite high, due to the labour-intensive nature of the work, but by far the highest cause of MSDs in the stone fabrication industry is incorrect handling of materials. Stone slabs are usually extremely heavy and often bulky, and therefore require significant exertion from the lifter. Bending, crouching, twisting or stretching all carry a risk of back or shoulder injury, particularly when working with heavier materials.
Another common cause of injury, particularly musculoskeletal injury, is repetitive work. Doing something over and over again, whether for a short or long time, and especially using the same hand or arm action, can result in repetitive strain injuries, such as Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome.
Sometimes the most mundane and routine tasks can pose a health and safety risk! Machine maintenance is often carried out in a confined or low-lit working space, forcing an awkward posture. A poor working environment, as well as poor organisation including lack of breaks and pressure, are red flags! Alongside this, working when physically tired or working beyond your physical capabilities can also contribute to the risk of developing MSDs.
Tips for preventing MSDs
A key way to mitigate the risk of MSDs is to invest in solutions that help reduce strain on workers when carrying out specific tasks. A perfect example of this is equipment to assist with proper lifting and handling of materials, such as vacuum lifters and winch carts, hand protectors and even stairs to replace ladders where appropriate. Although this might come at a cost, the long-term benefit of having a safe, healthy and happy workforce cannot be underestimated! However, it’s important to ensure tools and equipment are properly maintained and always replaced when necessary.
It’s also important to establish a clear workplace health and safety policy to ensure all employees have a reference on specific procedures. These could include inspection and maintenance procedures, load limits on machinery or workplace helps for carrying and lifting amongst many more. Why not work with your team to create a strategy that works for all? In general, employees are far more likely to help follow procedures they have helped design!
Appropriate training is also vital – remember, prevention is better than cure! Not only is this important in lifting techniques and maintaining a correct posture, but ensuring employees know how to operate machinery safely is also extremely important.
If in doubt, seek help
MSDs and indeed any health hazard in the workplace is never something you should take lightly. If you are unsure of the risks or the regulations, then you should seek further advice. There are many trusted and respected organisations who can come in and give senior management insight into health and safety procedures, and subsequently plan in training for your teams – to ensure your fabricators are working as safely and comfortably as possible.
If you have questions on the right solutions needed to keep your workers safe, you can always contact our Lifting & Handling experts here and they will be happy to advise. They can even come out to you and carry out a site inspection to ensure your workflow is following procedure and you are using the correct equipment needed to mitigate risk. For more information, you can refer to the Safe in Stone resource on our website.
