Manual Handling Risk Assessments
A Manual Handling Risk Assessment is essential for identifying and controlling hazards linked to manual handling tasks, particularly those related to musculoskeletal disorders. Our Occupational Health Physiotherapists possess dual expertise in Physiotherapy and Work Health and Safety, positioning them as subject matter experts in workplace safety, manual handling risks, and effective risk control strategies that help minimise injury risk while enhancing productivity.
Risk assessments can be performed reactively after a workplace injury occurs or proactively when worker consultation or observations bring attention to potentially hazardous tasks.
Why Risk Assessments Matter
Manual handling injuries are a leading cause of workplace incidents, frequently resulting from repetitive movements, awkward postures, or the lifting of heavy loads. These injuries can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, which impact overall workplace safety. Conducting a manual handling risk assessment eliminates guesswork in prevention by identifying the sources of strain and offering risk control strategies to mitigate these hazards.
Benefits
A Manual Handling Risk Assessment helps your business go beyond compliance — it fosters safer, more efficient workplaces and enhances worker wellbeing while addressing workplace safety concerns.
Preventing Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)
By analysing how tasks are performed and the forces involved, we identify hazardous manual tasks such as lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or repetitive movements. Implementing effective risk control strategies to address these risks reduces the likelihood of sprains, strains, and other musculoskeletal injuries — the most common cause of lost time and workers’ compensation claims.
Improving Task and Workplace Design
Our assessments often reveal opportunities to enhance layout, workflow, and equipment use. Simple changes such as adjusting bench heights, repositioning materials, or introducing mechanical aids can significantly reduce strain and improve task efficiency, ultimately contributing to workplace safety.
Supporting Worker Wellbeing and Engagement
When workers are consulted and involved in the assessment process, they feel heard and valued. This engagement improves buy-in for new safety initiatives and encourages safer work practices. Reduced fatigue and discomfort also lead to higher productivity and job satisfaction, reinforcing the importance of preventing musculoskeletal disorders.
Demonstrating WHS Compliance and Due Diligence
Under Work Health and Safety legislation, employers must identify and control risks associated with hazardous manual tasks. A comprehensive risk assessment provides clear, defensible evidence that your organisation is meeting its legal obligations and implementing best-practice injury prevention strategies, including robust risk control strategies.
Enabling Safer Return-to-Work Planning
Understanding the physical demands of each task helps match suitable duties to a worker’s capacity following injury. This supports safe, sustainable return-to-work outcomes and reduces the likelihood of re-injury, further enhancing workplace safety.
Our Process
We begin by discussing your WHS goals, current challenges, and any recent injury trends. This ensures the assessment is targeted, relevant, and aligned with your WHS objectives.
Where applicable we can also examine injury reports, near misses, and previous assessments to identify patterns and high-risk tasks. This helps prioritise areas that need the most attention.
Our team observes workers performing their usual tasks in real work conditions. This allows us to see the physical, cognitive, and environmental demands firsthand, including lifting techniques, postures, and workflow.
*Desktop assessment is available
We engage directly with employees to capture their insights, concerns, and suggestions. This ensures the assessment reflects practical realities and encourages worker engagement in safety initiatives.
We quantify physical demands such as loads, postures, forces, and repetitions using ergonomic assessment tools. Each task is evaluated for risk level using a risk matrix and classified as light, medium, or heavy based on task demands.
We deliver a comprehensive report that includes:
- Task analysis with photos and quantitative data
- Practical recommendations for risk reduction using the Hierarchy of Controls
- Guidance on safe task redesign, workflow improvements, and ergonomic adjustments
The median time lost for a serious work cover claim is 7 weeks Musculoskeletal disorders account for 50% of serious claims
(Safework Aus 2024)
Contact Us
TaskFit
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.