Bullivants
.png)
Working at heights mandatory inspections
Bullivants : 2 June 2026
We all have a duty of care to prevent injury or harm to staff, contractors, and visitors in the workplace. The identification of workplace hazards...
Fact. Manual handling is the biggest cause of injuries in Australian workplaces. According to Safe Work Australia’s Keep Work, Health and Safety Statistics (2021), body stressing accounts for 37% of serious injury claims in the workplace.
Whether you are lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, or carrying, the stresses on your body can be immense, especially if you have poor technique or are using the wrong equipment for the task. The list of injuries is long, and includes:
-
Back, neck, and shoulder injuries
-
Sprains and strains to other parts of the body
-
Hernias
All these injuries fall under the broad category of Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD’s). Unfortunately, some of these MSD’s can sometimes become chronic conditions that can be debilitating and hinder your quality of life. However, injuries need not always occur. Blackwoods has implemented S.A.M. (Stop, Assess, Move) in its workplaces. It is a process that entices greater thought before moving an object, and then applying the correct procedures and equipment during the moving.
Rigging and lifting specialist Bullivants, only knows too well the importance of safe manual handling for its employees. Mark Laws, Regional Operations Manager, Bullivants says,
“Pacific Scissor Trolleys are great examples of how we can apply techniques like S.A.M. to reduce manual handling injuries. Using hydraulic foot pedals and ergonomic levers, these trolleys are designed to lift and shift loads up to 500 kilograms."
It is the duty of every employer to make their workplace safe. The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (2017) of Victoria, have specific duties about identifying and controlling risks of injuries from manual handling; this includes the handling of hazardous materials. If possible, risks should be eliminated, but this is not always reasonably practical; in these situations, employers must consider:
-
Changing the workplace layout, the workplace environment, or the systems of work.
- Changing the things used in the hazardous manual handling, such as characteristics of the load or equipment used.
-
Using mechanical aids
-
A combination of the above.
Safe, compliant load restraint solutions from Bullivants
Bullivants : 6 May 2026
From transport through to storage, effective load restraint plays a critical role in keeping people safe, protecting equipment, and ensuring cargo...
Lifting solutions designed for reliability and durability
Bullivants : 28 January 2026
Manual handling in manufacturing environments carries inherent risks. To ensure safety and efficiency, lifting and hoisting equipment must not only...