Spec Finish

Health and Safety FIND OUTMORE To download a copy of the guide visit www.thefis. org/membership-hub/ publications/best-practice- guides/recommendations- for-the-safe-ingress-of- plasterboard/ i www.thefis.org 25 from MSD when plasterboard is delivered and moved around a site. An advisory panel was subsequently established, of which Prof Woolf is a member, and a new best practice guide has now been produced which outlines recommendations for the safe ingress of plasterboards. “We all need to be mobile to be able to work and enjoy life outside work and when we stop working. This means good musculoskeletal health through looking after our bones, joints, back and neck through keeping fit and avoiding injuries,” Prof Woolf said. Being aware of potential problems and making contingency plans before they have chance to take hold, are key to improving the situation within fit-out, and the new document seeks to address this. Occupational Health and Hygiene Specialist Ian Strudley, who chairs the Health in Construction Leadership Group, as well as the Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Task Group said: “Almost two-thirds of ill health in construction is reported as musculoskeletal disorders and the rate of this is almost double that across all other industries. Much of this is down to poor manual handling. “Following the comprehensive advice and practical help on the movement of plasterboard materials to, from and around sites in this guidance will help enormously in reducing this unacceptable toll of illness in our industry.” Moving plasterboards from the factory to installation gives the opportunity for people to handle heavy products at many stages but any manual handling needs to be minimised and done as safely as possible, he stressed. Joe Cilia, Technical Director at FIS and Chair of the Plasterboard material handling group, said: “Reducing MSD should start at the planning stage, not when the lorry arrives. It’s one of the main messages being pushed by the advisory group, with a drive to make more employers aware that they have a responsibility to protect their employees and workers.’’ The good practice guide seeks to address the process from design to removing the waste from site, and as the HCLG had already commissioned two other studies on installation and one on manual handling, the new guide focuses on processes that are currently in place, while the panel looked at what additional recommendations could be adopted. The aim of this matrix is to improve health and safety when plasterboards are delivered to site, moved and stored before they are installed, ensuring that each stage is planned, communicated and acted on to reduce the risk of injury and improve safe working conditions for operatives and everyone on site and that the requirements of the Construction Design Management (CDM) regulations are met. The panel has looked at all types of commercial sites including homes, commercial, high-rise multi-occupancy and include new-builds, refurbishments, and combinations of these types. Each stage if the project, from planning to handling waste is then broken down into more specific sections such as Training capability and competency which will allow teams to drill down into specific activities, and laid out into what with recommendations which along with a check list will allow teams to plan and implement the key points from this guide, and ultimately ensure the Health and Safety of everyone involved. “Repeated or awkward handling of heavy items causes the greatest risk.” Prof Anthony Woolf