Systems thinking applied to safety during manual handling tasks in the transport and storage industry.
Injuries resulting from manual handling tasks represent an on-going problem for the transport and storage industry. This article describes an application of a systems theory-based approach, Rasmussen's (1997. Safety Science 27, 183), risk management framework, to the analysis of the factors influencing safety during manual handling activities in a freight handling organisation. Observations of manual handling activities, cognitive decision method interviews with workers (n=27) and interviews with managers (n=35) were used to gather information about three manual handling activities. Hierarchical task analysis and thematic analysis were used to identify potential risk factors and performance shaping factors across the levels of Rasmussen's framework. These different data sources were then integrated using Rasmussen's Accimap technique to provide an overall analysis of the factors influencing safety during manual handling activities in this context. The findings demonstrate how a systems theory-based approach can be applied to this domain, and suggest that policy-orientated, rather than worker-orientated, changes are required to prevent future manual handling injuries.
University of the Sunshine Coast Accident Research, University of the Sunshine Coast, Locked Bag 4, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4558, Australia; Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash Injury Research Institute, Building 70, Monash University, VIC 3800, Australia. Electronic address: ngoode@usc.edu.au.
Natassia
N
Goode
University of the Sunshine Coast Accident Research, University of the Sunshine Coast, Locked Bag 4, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4558, Australia. Electronic address: psalmon@usc.edu.au.
Paul M
PM
Salmon
Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash Injury Research Institute, Building 70, Monash University, VIC 3800, Australia. Electronic address: michael.lenne@monash.edu.
Michael G
MG
Lenné
Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash Injury Research Institute, Building 70, Monash University, VIC 3800, Australia. Electronic address: peter.hillard@monash.edu.
Peter
P
Hillard
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D017770:Lifting / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D016272:Occupational Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*; D013597:Systems Analysis; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
Accimap; Manual handling; Systems thinking; Transport and storage; Workplace safety