Ontario launches MSD prevention kit

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has launched what it calls a “prevention toolbox” to combat musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) in the workplace.

The MSD Prevention Toolbox is an information package for safety managers, employers and workers offering valuable resources to help prevent MSD and other ergonomic-related injuries, which account for 40 per cent of lost-time injury in the workplace.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour has launched what it calls a “prevention toolbox” to combat musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) in the workplace.
 
The MSD Prevention Toolbox is an information package for safety managers, employers and workers offering valuable resources to help prevent MSD and other ergonomic-related injuries, which account for 40 per cent of lost-time injury in the workplace. MSDs include injuries to the muscles, nerves and tendons that develop over time. These types of injuries are a significant workplace health and safety issue, according to the Ministry of Labour, adding that the effect of these types of injuries cost the economy more than $19 billion between 1996 and 2006.




The MSD Prevention Toolbox provides information on how to conduct MSD risk assessment in the workplace, set up an MSD prevention program and enhance a company’s existing MSD prevention practices.
 
The toolbox outlines workplace MSD hazards with information on how to get started on an MSD prevention framework, recognizing specific jobs at risk of MSD, in-depth risk assessment methodologies, and identifying and selecting appropriate MSD hazard controls.


The toolbox is the third installment from the ministry’s MSD Prevention Series aimed at providing a comprehensive resource for addressing MSD-related injuries in the workplace.

“We are working with our partners to provide workers and employers with the information they need to prevent injuries, stay safe and ultimately increase the productivity of our economy,” says Ontario Minister of Labour Brad Duguid in a statement.

The ministry developed the toolbox in partnership with members of the Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario, including the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the Institute for Work and Health, with additional support from the University of Waterloo’s Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders. The ministry  says it also consulted with labour organizations, employers’ associations and individual employers and workers.

The MSD Prevention Series is part of the Ontario government’s Pains and Strains campaign that includes six objectives: increase education and awareness of MSDs and their prevention; focus on MSD prevention during inspections; enhance training for inspectors on MSD prevention; provide new resource materials; improve tracking of ergonomics-related inspections; and, increase the province’s ergonomics expertise.