Sprains and strains are the most common workplace injuries in Queensland, accounting for 27.4% of all workers’ compensation claims in 2024, with the vast majority caused by hazardous manual tasks, also referred to as manual handling.
Managing these injuries can be challenging given the variety of risks workers face daily. Every worker has the right to a safe workplace, just as every employer has a legal duty of care to protect their workers. The following article provides steps employers can take to effectively manage manual handling risks at work.
What is a hazardous manual task?
Defined by the Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, a hazardous manual task is any task that requires a person to lift, lower, push, pull, carry or otherwise move, hold or restrain any person, animal or object involving one or more of the following:
- repetitive or sustained force,
- high or sudden force,
- repetitive movement,
- sustained or awkward posture, and
- exposure to vibration.
These hazards directly stress the body and over time, can lead to significant injury.
How to manage manual handling risks
The process for managing Manual Handling Risks is best broken down into a few steps:
Step one: Assessing hazards and risks in the workplace
The first step is to conduct thorough risk assessments in the workplace to identify any hazardous manual tasks that occur. This assessment should include the following, relevant to your workplace:
- Observe the workplace (office, site, lab, field).
- Ask workers about what makes their job difficult or unsafe.
- Review incident reports, near misses, and industry-specific risks.
- Consider physical, psychosocial, chemical, ergonomic, and environmental factors.
Step two: Develop a risk matrix to set prevention priorities
Once identified, employers must estimate the likelihood (rare, possible, likely) that employees will be exposed to the risk and the consequence of exposure (minor injury, serious harm, fatality). These two factors are combined together in a risk matrix to prioritise the application of control measures.
How and when to apply each control measure is determined by the risk matrix. For example, hazards leading to death that employees are often exposed to should be prioritised over less dangerous hazards or those with less exposure.
Step three: Implement practical control measures
It is recommended that employers utilise the hierarchy of control when considering and implementing control measures. the Hierarchy of Control is a structured way of deciding how to manage workplace risks. It’s required under Queensland’s Work Health and Safety Regulation and is designed to help you choose the most effective controls first, rather than relying on weaker measures.
Step Four – Review the risks, hazards and control measures
When managing workplace safety risks, you must review your chosen control measures to ensure they are in place and implemented as planned. It is also important to measure whether they are effective in reducing or removing the risk), and whether they up to date and current to changing working conditions
Controls, in particular, should be reviewed:
- After implementation – to confirm they are working as intended.
- Following an incident or near miss – to see if controls failed or need strengthening.
- When changes occur – new equipment, processes, chemicals, staff, or locations.
- Regularly/periodically – e.g. annual WHS review, or more often for high-risk work.
When conducting the review you should check the following:
- Are workers following the control measures?
- Are the controls reducing the risk?
- Have new risks been introduced?
- Are there better solutions available now?
Risk of non-compliance – an example case
In many workplaces, training is the only control measure applied to manual handling, especially lifting. It is important to recognise that generic “how to lift” training alone is not sufficient. To be effective, training must:
- Be role-specific, covering the actual tasks employees will perform
- Include education on which postures, or repetitive movements may cause injury when performing the role-specific tasks.
- Introduce maximum lifting load capacities if frequent manual lifting is involved
- Train workers in the correct use, load capacity, and operation of mechanical aids if applicable.
- Be documented and confirmed through competency assessments
- Be supported by ongoing monitoring to ensure compliance.
A 2022 case involving a major supermarket chain highlights the risks of inadequate training. In this case, despite manual handling training being conducted for every worker, it was found to be insufficient due to the training not being practical or relative to the actual tasks employees were performing, it was generic and not role-specific and the compliance of adhering to correct methods was poorly embedded in workplace culture.
Workers were found to be pressured into prioritising speed over safety, no maximum load limits were in place and staff were left to determine what was a “reasonable” maximum load for them to carry. This approach exposed the company to significant risk and liability.
How can Business Chamber Queensland help?
Business Chamber Queensland’s Workplace Advisory team can support employers with policy compliance and training consultation relating to manual handling in the workplace to assist with reducing the risk of injury.
Business Chamber Queensland members with HR services as part of their membership are invited to contact the Workplace Advisory Services team:
P: 1300 731 988
Businesses who do not have a HR membership may also seek assistance however a competitive consultancy fee will apply for any advice and assistance provided.
