Monitoring and reviewing

It is important to have systems in place to monitor and review any control measures for upper limb disorders (ULDs) that you have implemented, to make sure that they continue to have the right effect.

You should:

• Consider the method and frequency of monitoring when planning and implementing control measures
• Consult employees so that they are fully aware of the monitoring procedures which are in place and understand they are in place to help protect their health
• Ask employees to report symptoms they may be suffering as soon as possible. Having a system in place to do this on a regular basis, such as a brief questionnaire, can improve the likelihood that you get this information and in an easily digestible and interpretable format. This is often called health monitoring and is an example of active monitoring where you are proactive in gathering information
• A body map can help a person to pinpoint where they are feeling the symptoms and they can be asked to describe the sensations they are feeling

There are other things you can do to gain information on whether or not your workforce may be suffering ULDs. These include:

• Using administrative resources such as information contained in the accident book, sickness absence records, staff turnover etc. These are just some examples of passive monitoring where the information is already available but you need to do something to interpret it
• If workers are reporting symptoms you may wish to consider referral to an occupational health provider to help that worker get the best treatment. Otherwise they should be directed to their GP
• When you have gathered information from both active or passive health monitoring it is then important you interpret this data to look for consistent patterns in:
  • Comments from employees
  • Symptoms reported
  • Existing risk factors
  • Results of surveys

Reviewing

Reviewing the results of health monitoring provides an opportunity to look at the overall performance of your control systems for managing ULD risks and may highlight particularly susceptible individuals. This process should be considered as an integral part of the management process.

To be effective a review should be systematic in approach and make full use of existing management resource ( information in the accident book, sickness absence records and other records).

An effective review:

• is an opportunity to learn from experience gained in managing ULD risk factors, signs and symptoms
• helps determine whether interventions continue to be effective
• Establishes whether risks have been controlled where reasonably practicble
• Provides an opportunity to assess whether improved control measures should be introduced

If as a result of health monitoring it looks like your controls may be failing you should review your risk assessment accordingly. You may need professional help and advice on this.

Dealing with existing ULDs

Further information for:

• employers
• workers
• occupational health professionals