The 3 Step Approach to Hazard Identification:
Hazard identification is a key step in preventing injury and disease in the workplace. Where there's a risk, you need to stop and think. You need to think about what you are about to do the potential risks and the likely effects on yourself and other people.
- 1. Spot the Hazard.
Be alert at work! Notice potential hazards and work out what the
problem is.
- 2. Assess the Risk
Talk to your supervisor about the hazard and work out a way to solve the
problem.
- 3. Make the Changes
Follow through. Carry out the agreed actions in order to solve the
problem.
Manual handling is a major part of a worker's job in the Retail Industry. Associated activities in this industry include stacking shelves, stacking cartons on pallets, moving trolleys, and packing stock.
Manual handling is not just about lifting heavy objects, but includes any activity requiring the use of force exerted by a person to lift, lower, push, pull hold or restrain a person, animal or thing. Manual handling injuries include
- Strains and sprains.
- Neck and back injury.
- Slips, falls and crush incidents.
- Cuts, bruises and broken bones.
- Hernia.
- Strained heart muscles.
- Occupational overuse syndrome (OOS).
People who suffer from a manual handling injury at work can spend the rest of their lives coping with pain and be unable to do a lot of things other people can do. For the last three years, 62% of all injuries in the retail industry in Queensland were strain related.
The majority of these injuries resulted from manual handling activities. Strain injuries occur through sudden overexertion or continuous overuse. Back injuries are one of the most serious types of strain.
Excessive strain on your back can lead to long-term damage. How do you know if a manual handling activity is a problem?
If you are a young worker you are more likely to be injured through manual handling work than an older worker. Your body is still developing and is less able to cope with strain. Persistent muscular aches or pains may indicate that there is excessive physical stress. This, however, does not reduce the risk for the older worker.
There is a range of risk factors associated with manual handling activities. These risk factors increase the likelihood of the activity resulting in injury. Some of the main risk factors in the Retail Industry are associated with - frequent or prolonged handling involving:
- Bending where the hands pass below mid-thigh level.
- Reaching above the shoulder.
- Twisting the back.
- Occasional handling of objects which are difficult or awkward to move due to:
- Shape, size or instability.
- Heavy weight.
- Being placed or stored below mid-thigh level or above the shoulder.
What do you do if you spot a manual handling problem?
Talk to your supervisor and your occupational health and safety officer or representative. They can work together to make sure the task is properly assessed.
Controlling Manual Handling Problems:
- 1. Eliminate double handling. (eg reduce the number of times an object is handled. Where possible move the stock directly from delivery to display).
- 2. Change the size or weight of packaging. (eg flour available in 25kg bags for a bakery could also be available in smaller bags weighing 12.5kgs. Smaller bags can be lifted and handled more easily).
- 3. Reduce push/pull forces. (eg employers could limit the number of shopping trolleys to be collected at one time by employees).
- 4. Work at the correct height. (eg Use stable, sturdy, step stools to enable easy access to stock that is out of reach).
Noise exposure in the retail industry is likely to be caused to levels of concern in bakery and butchery areas. Apart from the machines and equipment in use, such areas are normally constructed with tiled or concrete floors and/or walls to comply with health and hygiene regulations.
This has as negative affect for noise as it reverberates freely in these areas particularly when several noise sources operating at the same time.
Where it is suspected that noise exposure levels are of concern the host employer should conduct an assessment of the levels of noise produced and, if confirmed, implement, where possible, control measures to reduce noise at the source.
Where this is not possible the host employer must protect your hearing by means of hearing protectors. Your host employer then must also provide appropriate training and instruction so that you can wear, and look after, the hearing protection effectively.
In food preparation areas earplugs should not be worn, unless they are connected to each other with a string or cord, due to the danger of an incorrectly inserted earplug failing out of your ear canal and disappearing in the food. Customers and authorities do not appreciate these things happening.
In bakery and butchery areas, likely sources of excessive noise are:
- Slicers.
- Dough mixers.
- Meat mincers.
- Bandsaws.
- Blenders.
- Food Processors.
- Presure washing vessels.
In retail storage areas likely sources of excessive noise are:
Garbage compactors are sometimes located in or near large storage areas and are also a potential source of exposure to excessive noise.
You should be informed and trained in:
- Safe manual handling methods.
- Specific manual handling hazards.
- Safe work procedures.
- Using manual handling aids.
- The right to ask for help.
Many injuries in the past could have been prevented by instruction, training and supervision. Safe work procedures should be prepared by employers with the help of employees to care for the special needs of inexperienced workers.
Even though you may be new to the job, as an employee you have a responsibility to speak up if you feel your job is too heavy, too difficult, too tiring or puts you at risk of injury.
It is the host employer's responsibility to provide you with safe work procedures, and with instruction, training and supervision for manual handling tasks.
Ways to reduce the risk:
- Lighten loads (break loads into smaller quantities);
- Reduce bending, twisting, reaching movements.
- Prevent muscle strain and fatigue. This includes warming up before working, allocating time for rest breaks, and allowing time to gradually get used to the job.
When stacking shelves, manual handling means lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, moving or holding any item that has to he moved onto or be removed from shelves.
Strain injuries may occur when:
- Items are double-banded.
- Items are stored above shoulder level.
- Items are lifted from below mid-thigh height.
- Items are too heavy.
- The weight of items is unknown and they are heavier than expected for their size or shape.
- Excessive forward reaching is required when lifting or placing loads on and off shelves.
- There is not enough space to handle items safely.
- The load is unstable or awkward to move.
Shelf stacking may also he associated with moving trolleys or unstacking pallets.
When moving trolleys, strain injuries may occur when:
- Elastic "ocky" straps are used to join trolleys. "Ocky" straps must not be used.
- Trolleys are difficult to maneuver.
- Trolley wheels are poorly maintained.
- The trolleys and their loads are too heavy.
- The surfaces over which the trolleys are pushed are uneven or mismatched.
- Trolleys are moved over large distances or up steep slopes .
- Trolleys are difficult to grip due to the absence of, or poor location of handles.
- The person pushing the trolley is unable to see over the load.
It is safer to push than to pull a trolley.
Strain injuries may occur when stacking cartons on pallets.
Strain injuries may occur when:
- The load is lifted from the floor, or from below mid-thigh height.
- Reaching above shoulder height when stacking cartons on pallets.
- There is twisting and bending when placing cartons on a pallet.
- Excessive forward reaching is required when placing cartons on the far side of a pallet.
- The cartons are too heavy.
- The cartons are awkward to grasp due to their size and shape.
Do not undertake manual handling tasks that are too heavy. Talk to your supervisor and health and safety representative. Talk to your supervisor about the size, shape and weight of cartons and their contents. It may be necessary for your supervisor to negotiate the size, shape, and weight etc. with the customers or suppliers to reduce the risk of injury.
Slips, Trips and Falls in the Retail Industry
Slippery and uneven floors in the workplace are a serious hazard and can result in far more serious accidents than simply tripping or falling over.
Factors that can cause a fall include:
- Surfaces are slippery (e.g. surfaces are wet, polished or oily)
- The surface texture of the floor is unsuitable (eg ceramic, wood, concrete, vinyl)
- Footwear is unsuitable.
- Moving from one surface to another.
- Floor levels change.
- Equipment, tools, rubbish are causing obstructions in work areas.
- Stock blocks access ways.
- Steps and ladders are used incorrectly.
- Clothing is caught.
- Lighting is unsatisfactory.
- Struck by a moving or falling object .
Other factors may have a detrimental effect on a person's behavior or performance (eg exposure to chemicals or electricity) that may increase the risk of a fall.
In some workplaces, floor surfaces can be chemically treated to increase traction and reduce the risk of slips and falls.
Many falls in the workplace have involved young workers aged less than 25 years and could have been prevented with training and safe work practices.
A fall can cause injury to the arms, legs, back, neck or head. Neck and head injuries can cause damage to the spinal cord and nervous system. Many workers have suffered permanent disabling injuries or death as a result of a fall.
Falls occur in many different workplaces and can he grouped into the following three categories:
- 1. slips, trips and falls (falls on the same level)
- 2. falls from height (a fall from one level to another)
- 3. falls into a depth.
Slippery surfaces in the Retail Industry include:
- Cool rooms.
- Freezers.
- Deli areas.
- Meat rooms.
- Bakery areas.
- Storage areas.
Working Safely With Sharp Implements
Be alert at work! Especially when working with sharp knives, tools and machinery.
In the Retail Industry, cuts and lacerations may occur:
- When cutting cartons with knives.
- In deli areas.
- In food preparation areas.
- In fruit and vegetable areas.
- In meat rooms.
- In hardware retail outlets.
Host employers are required to provide personal protective equipment and clothing (PPE) when hazards in the workplace cannot be eliminated.
After receiving training, employees are required to use the personal protective equipment supplied by the host employer and follow all safety instructions.
Personal protective equipment and clothing can include such things as overalls; safety boots; safety glasses; gloves; goggles; respirators; rubber boots; wet weather gear; and earmuffs as appropriate.
Employees should be instructed and trained in the correct use of any PPE provided by the host employer.
It is the responsibility of the host employer to ensure that plant and equipment is properly maintained and repaired. Plant and equipment in the Retail Industry can include:
- Trolleys.
- Compactors.
- Waste bins.
- Dock levellers.
- Meat slicers.
- Bandsaws.
- Carton crushers.
- Dough mixers, chicken rotisseries, doughnut machines etc.
Guarding
Guards are attached to mechanical equipment and must be used to protect you from the moving parts of machines.
In this industry, examples of guards include those on cutting and slicing machines, mixers, and compactors.
It is important that plant and equipment are properly guarded.
Keep all guards in place.
If guards are removed during cleaning or maintenance, make sure they are replaced.
Do not start the machine during cleaning.
Emergency Evacuation Procedures
In case of an emergency it is vital that employees know the workplace's emergency evacuation procedures. It is also preferable that they have practiced the procedure by participating in emergency evacuation drills.
As part of induction employees should be advised of the location of emergency exits, first aid facilities and any trained first aiders, location of fire extinguishers and emergency phone contact numbers.