Manual Handling In Construction

Manual handling training, assessments, education and videos by industry leading WHS instructors.

Construction Manual Handling Training and Assessment

What Is Manual Handling In The Construction Industry?

A hazardous manual task is a task requiring a person to lift, lower, push, pull, carry or otherwise move, hold or restrain anything involving one or more of the following:

repetitive or sustained force
high or sudden force
repetitive movement
sustained or awkward posture
exposure to vibration

These hazards directly stress the body and can lead to an injury.

Examples Of Manual Handling Hazards And Risks In The Construction Industry

Load

Repetition

Surface

Awkward

Manual Handling Injuries In The Construction Industry

The construction industry experiences high financial and functional losses compared to other industries in Australia. The median time lost by a worker with an injury is 8.2 weeks, and the median compensation paid is $17.7K per claim, with a claims frequency rate is 9.8 (the number of claims per million hours worked), which is well above average.

If you take into account the billions of dollars it injects into the economy and the astronomical size of its work force, making small changes to reduce injury and improve productivity can produce exponential benefits for companies, their workers and even the Australian economy.

Injuries suffered by construction workers can have a major impact not only the individual, but the individual’s family and friends; as well as colleagues, the business and business owners. These unforeseen or overlooked implications have very real consequences that are incalculable. Protect your company and help your workers with manual handling training.

Construction Worker Injury Insurance Claims – Industry / Job

construction worker injury insurance claims by industry

Manual Handling Injuries In Construction – Type Of Injury

Construction Worker Injury Insurance Claims – Bodily Location

Manual Handling Injury Claims – Cause / Mechanism

Construction Worker Injury Insurance Claims - Mechanism

Reference: https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/interactive-data/industry/construction

Who Is Responsible For Manual Handling Risk Management In Construction Companies?

Within an organisation duty holders who have a role in managing the risks of hazardous manual tasks include persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) designers, manufacturers, importers, suppliers and installers of plant, substances or structures and officers.

Workers and other persons at the workplace also have duties under the WHS Act, such as the duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety at the workplace. A person can have many more than one duty and more than one person can have the same duty at the same time. Early consultation and identification of risks can allow for more options to eliminate or minimise risks and reduce the associated costs.

Recent Fines For Non Compliance In The Construction Industry

In 2022 there were 120 employers who were fined for safety breaches in Victoria by Worksafe. Construction accounted for 47 of those employers (More than 120 employers fined for safety breaches in 2022 | WorkSafe Victoria)

SafeWork NSW is warning businesses they will face fines and potential prosecution if they fail to report incidents after the workplace regulator this year issued 140 compliance notices and over $55,000 in fines for breaches with one-third of all offences occurring in the construction industry. (SafeWork warning follows upward trend in failure to notify and disturbance of scenes | SafeWork NSW)

Fines for non-compliance with WHS:

SiteBook

Specific penalties for non-compliance:

Worksafe QLD Penalties | WorkSafe.qld.gov.au
Safe Work Australia Penalties under the WHS laws | Safe Work Australia

What Does The Code Of Practice Say About Manual Task Risk Management In Construction?

This Code provides guidance on how to manage the risks associated with hazardous manual tasks that have the potential to cause an MSD in the workplace using the following systematic process:

Identify hazardous manual tasks—find out what could cause harm.
Assess risks, if necessary—understand the nature of the harm that could be caused by the hazard, how serious the harm could be and the likelihood of it happening. This step may not be necessary if you are dealing with a known risk with known controls.
Eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
Control risks—if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk, implement the most effective control measures that are reasonably practicable in the circumstances in accordance with the hierarchy of control measures, and ensure they remain effective over time.
Review control measures to ensure they are working as planned.

Access More Resources

Model Code of Practice: Hazardous manual tasks
Model Code of Practice: How to manage work health and safety risks
Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work

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