Injury Prevention & Management

MoveSAFE

It is a legislative requirement to manage Hazardous Manual Tasks, and with an increasing ageing population it is critical that organisations develop a risk management system to cope with musculo-skeletal disorders.

What causes musculo-skeletal disorders?

Injury and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) accounted for 90% of serious claims in 2015-16, with soft tissue sprains and strains (48%) being by far the most common cause of MSD. (NSW Workers Compensation Statistical bulletin 2015/16) and are most often related to the performance of manual tasks. The average gross cost for each of these injuries in 2015/16 was $27,269.

Legally, employers are required to provide safe systems to prevent or minimise manual task (manual handling) risks in each workplace. Managing these risks to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders requires a systematic process. Many factors influence musculoskeletal disorder risk, including:

Organisational factors, including culture and leadership
Task and work environment factors, including ergonomics, equipment and nature of work
Employee capability, for example skill or technique to safely perform a task
Employee capacity, for example strength or functional capacity to safely perform a task

Managing workforce musculo-skeletal disorders

Level 1 - Work Area Design

Ergonomics
Site Housekeeping
Supervisor & Leadership Training

Level 2 - Task Demands & Environment

Task Training
Task Analysis & Design
Task Planning
Manual Task Training
Mechanical Aids

Level 3 - Fitness For Work

Health Programs & Challenges
Pre-employments
Symptom Check
Role Modeling

Level 4 - Early Intervention

Onsite Physio
Reporting Pathways & Expectations
Suitable Duties

Level 5 - Accelerated Recovery

RTW & Case Management
Onsite Physio & Rehab Team

To manage the contributing workplace and individual factors workers may be exposed to, a multi layer of defense approach should be applied to minimise the risk of a musculoskeletal disorder.

The Swiss Cheese Model of accident causation illustrates that although many layers of defense lie between hazards and accidents there are flaws in each layer that, if aligned, can allow the accident to occur. In theory, lapses and weaknesses in one control layer do not allow a hazard to materialise, since other control layers also exist, preventing a single point of failure.

Why trust us?

Leadership

We can support leaders to develop a clear and demonstrable vision to reduce musculoskeletal injury risk.

Culture

We can support organisations to drive preventative and personal responsibility.

Systems

We can provide you with the programs and tools to systemise a risk management approach.

People

Provide your workers with the knowledge, skill and resources to MoveSafe.

Projects

Our Injury Prevention & Management Team

Mark Cameron

Exercise Physiologist

Working with Ethos Health for nearly 5 years and graduating from the University of Sydney with a degree in Exercise Science, Mark has a keen interest in strategically reducing injuries and injury risk to workers.

He’s ability to analyse data ensures our programs are data driven and systematic, ensuring Ethos Health’s Injury Prevention Program provides a significant Return on Investment for the client.

Qualifications

Bsc. Exercise Science

Nick Davies

Industrial Physiotherapist

Nick is a Newcastle University graduate, who has recently joined the Ethos team with over 6 years’ experience in various private practice and hospital settings in Australia and the UK. In addition to providing services to a general clinical caseload, Nick has a special interest in work-related injuries and will be dividing his time between our Newcastle West clinic and various on-site clinics throughout the Hunter.

Qualifications

BAppSc.(Physio)

Matt Cooper

Health & Safety Consultant

Combining a BSc Degree in Sport Performance and Postgraduate Certificate in Organisational Safety and Human Factors provides Matt with a unique background in how human factors influence all aspects to workplace performance and safety.

Matt’s knowledge also extends to the physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, sociology and psychology areas of performance. As a Trainer and Assessor Matt joined the Ethos Health team 5 years ago, and his ever-widening content knowledge and engaging delivery style has seen him maintain a net approval score greater than eight for his delivery across fatigue and injury prevention programs.

Qualifications

BSc (Hons), GradCert, Dip WHS, Cert IV TAE

Benn West

Exercise Physiologist

Benn's special interests are wide ranging and include musculoskeletal and neurological rehabilitation, exercise during cancer treatment, and chronic disease management (for example, diabetes, COPD or heart disease). Benn works from our Newcastle West and Lake Macquarie practices.

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