Tradesmen (or ‘tradies’) are among the most likely workers to be impaired with serious disease or injury as part of their jobs according to data from Safe Work Australia; statistics show that as many as 20% of serious workplace injuries involve a tradie. Safeguarding health and safety for tradies is an important concern in overall workplace safety.
Improving health and safety for tradies involves three main groups: employers, physiotherapists and tradies themselves. Each group contributes in a unique way and all need to collaborate to produce better health outcomes for tradies as outlined below.
Physiotherapists
Physiotherapist professional bodies have created guidelines that provide information for tradies on how best to maintain full-body health and safety and have taken an active approach in promoting the health of individuals working in occupations that involve intensive manual work or repetitive physical labour. This is because the number one cause of serious injury claims across this occupation is muscular stress, which is to blame for about a third of all workplace injury reports. Musculoskeletal conditions, left untreated, can have far-reaching consequences and the first step to preventing them is increasing awareness among tradies of how to prevent them
Employers
Following muscular stress, the second largest cause of tradie injuries is physical workplace hazards that result in trips, slips or falls and these contribute to about a fifth of workplace injury claims. Employers must ensure a safe workplace for all their workers and have a process in place for reporting incidents and the action that was taken in response. This involves both knowing their requirements under the law and effectively communication workplace safety policies and making sure they are adhered to
Tradies
Tradies must take a pro-active approach to their physical and mental well being and be prepared to take corrective action before a problem becomes chronic. While the major causes of workplace injuries among tradies are musculoskeletal conditions and psychological stress, there are additional potential health problems that can arise from prolonged exposure to physical elements such as chemicals or other hazardous materials as well as environmental working conditions such as sun exposure or excessive noise, for example. Tradies need to make sure they are taking all preventive measures required when working in various conditions and seek help immediately when symptoms of a problem or injury occur. For example, when they feel pain or discomfort they should seek help rather than ‘working through it’ and potentially making the problem worse.
