Food manufacture - Main causes of injury / occupational ill health

Manual handling / musculoskeletal injuries

• Main causes of injury
• Case studies

Injury statistics

Over 35% of food and drink industry injuries reported to HSE are manual handling injuries, such as back injuries. This represents over 3,200 acute injuries per year caused by handling and lifting; 60% of the injuries involve lifting heavy objects.

In addition, workers carrying out lighter repetitive tasks, such as on production lines, can suffer chronic (persistent) injuries, such as work-related upper limb disorders (WRULDs). WRULDS such as tenosynovitis and carpal tunnel syndrome account for:

• 38% of compensation cases under the Department of Work and Pensions Industrial Injuries Scheme, and
• 74% of cases of occupational ill health reported to HSE under RIDDOR

Main causes of musculoskeletal injury

In the food and drink industries, most musculoskeletal injuries arise from just 5 causes:

• stacking/unstacking containers (such as boxes, crates and sacks)
• pushing wheeled racks (such as oven racks and trolleys of produce)
• cutting, boning, jointing, trussing and evisceration (such as meat and poultry)
• packing products (such as cheese, confectionery and biscuits)
• handling drinks containers (such as delivery of casks, kegs and crates).
• These are key tasks to which attention should be paid when carrying out risk assessments.

How do we know if we have a problem?

Injury and health problems show up in different ways, such as:

• cases of injury to backs and limbs
• aches and pains
• poor product quality
• high material waste
• low output
• frequent worker complaints and rest stops
• do-it-yourself improvements to work stations and tools (eg seat padding)
• workers wearing bandages, splints, rub-ons, copper bracelets or magnets.

If you have a problem it will be costing money from sickness absence, high staff turnover, retraining, loss of production etc. Compensation cases are increasing, and problems may affect your insurance premiums.

Managing the risk

• Identify which tasks present a serious risk of acute injury (eg from lifting) or chronic injury (eg from repetitive upper body work)
• Assess these tasks in detail to decide what factors lead to the risk
• Introduce mechanisation where this is reasonably practicable, eg powered trucks, conveyors, vacuum lifters, bulk handling or automation
• Where mechanisation is not possible, introduce measures to prevent injury, eg reduce weights of sacks/boxes to 25kg or below, improve ergonomic design of work stations and work areas, job rotation, training, medical surveillance, job transfer
• Consult fully with trade union safety representatives or other employee representatives and workers to ensure effective and workable solutions to problems.

Further guidance

• HSG196 - Moving food and drink - Manual handling solutions for the food and drink industries (100 case studies)
• Food information sheet 23 - Injuries and ill health caused by handling in the food and drink industries
• Food information sheet 31 - Reducing injuries casued by sack handling in the food and drink industries
• Food information sheet 33 - Roll canges and wheeled racks in the food and drink industries: Reducing manual handling injuries
  

HSE's general information and guidance on musculoskeletal disorders