Putting you first at the centre of what we do. Keeping you healthy and safe at work. Supporting you when you are harmed at work. Ensuring your scheme works and is sustainable.
Manual tasks - What are the OHS risks?
The occupational health and safety risks associated with performing a hazardous manual task are injuries associated with:
- repetitive or sustained application of force
- repetitive or sustained awkward posture
- repetitive or sustained movement
- application of high force
- exposure to sustained vibration
- a manual task involving the handling of a person or an animal
- a manual task involving the handling of unstable or unbalanced loads or loads which are difficult to grasp or hold.
These types of manual tasks have the potential to contribute to the development of a musculoskeletal disorder.
A musculoskeletal disorder means an injury or disease of the musculoskeletal system that arises in whole or in part from undertaking manual tasks in the workplace, whether occurring suddenly or over a prolonged period of time (but does not include any injury or disease which is caused by crushing, entrapment or cutting resulting from the mechanical operation of plant or other equipment).