Without first understanding the risks which are present, it is very difficult to implement the appropriate control measures to reduce, or ideally eliminate, these risks. The first step in the risk management process is analysing and evaluating the various hazardous manual tasks in the occupational setting, and thus understanding the risk of injury arising from these hazards. Workplaces can be confident in the process through the utilisation of evidence-based tools.
What Is A ManTRA? (Manual Task Risk Assessment)
“A Manual Task Risk Assessment (ManTRA) is an assessment tool which is used to assess the exposure to musculoskeletal risk factors in relation to manual tasks within the workplace. It combines information regarding the time a manual task is completed, with an assessment of various characteristics of the task, allowing for a determination of level of risk, and thus the requirement for control measures to be implemented.”
What Does A Manual Task Risk Assessment Involve?
“For effective workplace utilisation, the use of the ManTRA assessment tool should be undertaken by a team consisting of;
- An experienced Employ Health physiotherapist
- Employees who usually perform the task, and
- Staff responsible for the management of hazardous manual tasks.
For the selected task, the team will work together to input information regarding total and repeated performance times of the task. This is then combined with an assessment of five characteristics of the task (cycle time, force, speed, awkwardness and vibration) for four body regions.
The scores from these assessments are then combined to assess the level of exposure to each direct risk factor, as identified in the advisory standard – AVAILABLE HERE
Based on the severity of identified exposure, appropriate risk control measures are recommended to the workplace, which can be implemented to ensure effective management of these hazards.
Workplaces can complement the use of the ManTRA tool, with the use of the PErforM tool (Participative Ergonomics for Manual Tasks). This is a risk analysis tool which recognises the employee as the professional in task completion, and thus inclusiveness in the process.
Benefits For Your Business & Team
Meet WHS Regulations
Identifying hazards associated with hazardous manual handling tasks and assessing the risk of MSD associated with these tasks are essential aspects of the risk management process. Through identification and assessment using the ManTRA tool, controls for identified risks can be implemented and subsequently reviewed for effectiveness, thus rounding out the risk management process. Completing this process will ensure you meet your obligations as an employer under the WHS Regulations for Hazardous Manual Tasks.
Learn Safe Work Practices
Inclusion of both employees and those responsible for managing hazardous manual tasks in the use of the ManTRA tool allows for a systemic understanding of the risk management process within the workplace. Through collaborative recommendation and implementation of control measures, staff at all levels can gain an appreciation of safe work practices to reduce MSD risk from hazardous manual tasks.
Reduce Injury Risks
By eliminating or reducing the risk arising from hazardous manual tasks, the risk of employees sustaining musculoskeletal injuries is subsequently reduced. This includes a range of injuries, including; soft tissue strains, joint sprains, fractures and hernias, which can subsequently lead to chronic pain and psychological injuries.
Improve Workplace Culture
Risk in the workplace can arise at the level of the work, the worker and the workplace. Through adaptation of participative risk assessment and management tools, health and safety culture within the workplace can be enhanced and therefore assist in reducing risk across all domains.
Reduce Sprain & Strain Claims
Risk management is an integral aspect of proactive workplace health. Learn how a business partnered with Employ Health to include manual task risk management in an onsite physiotherapy program, and subsequently reduced sprain & strain claims by 63% in just 18 months.
When Is A Manual Task Risk Assessment Required?
A manual task risk assessment should be completed once hazards related to manual handling are identified. This identification should include consultation with workers and health and safety representatives, to identify tasks which have the potential to cause MSDs. Reviewing available information, including injury trends, can also provide direction on the requirements of completing formal assessments for particular tasks.
Why Employ Health?
Employ Health physiotherapists solely operate within the occupational setting, across multiple industries; including manufacturing, food production and warehousing. Experience across these fields allows for an appreciation of a broad range of hazardous manual tasks, and the subsequent requirement for specific treatment for the MSDs that can arise from these. Frequent implementation of ManTRA and PErforM tools allows for Employ Health physiotherapists to have a deep understanding of the risk management process, including the ability to recommend control measures in line with the Hierarchy of Controls.
Employ Health appreciates the four stages of the Risk Management Process included in the Code of Practice (Code of Practice: Hazardous Manual Tasks), and has assisted numerous partner businesses in complying with their duties, and, more importantly, effectively controlling risks arising with their workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not all manual handling work is hazardous. It becomes hazardous if involves:
- repeated, sustained or high force
- sustained awkward posture
- repetitive movements
- exposure to sustained vibration
- handling people or animals
- loads that are unstable, unbalanced or hard to hold
Each individual State and Territory have a Code of Practice which is based on the ‘Model WHS Laws.’ These can be found here: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/law-and-regulation/model-whs-laws